


The Moon Also Rises

by CalypsoFlora



Category: League of Legends, Video Games - Fandom, demacia - Fandom, diana league of legends, diana/ezreal - Fandom, ezreal - Fandom, ezreal league of legends, female/male - Fandom, mount targon, valoran - Fandom
Genre: Demacia, F/M, Jarvan IV - Freeform, League of Legends - Freeform, Valoran, diana league of legends - Freeform, ezreal - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-26
Updated: 2015-04-08
Packaged: 2018-01-20 22:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1527272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CalypsoFlora/pseuds/CalypsoFlora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Diana has just escaped from Mount Targon and finds herself meeting the Prodigal Explorer. When she is "dragged" to Demacia, she believes that she will be able to start a new life and leave her past behind. But the more lies she makes and the beginning of deep feelings for certain champions, chaos could manifest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty new for me. I know I am taking a risk of what I am writing about but I hope you all enjoy it. Ideas and criticism are welcomed, but as long as they are appropriate and polite. Enjoy!

I did not know where I was, but I kept running. I looked around. I was surrounded by new homes I had never seen on Mount Targon before. I shielded myself and jumped, landing on a rooftop. I leaped across the roofs of homes, following the light’s shine. It told me to escape to Zaun, that I would safe there. I would be accepted by the others and fight against the light. Leona would bow down to me, Diana, the Scorn of the Moon.

But for now could not stop until I reached my destination. I sprinted from Mount Targon, climbed the Ironspike mountains, and now I had been running ever since. My lungs ached with pain but the moon told me to keep moving forward.

I heard someone running behind me. Leona would never leave her people, and Pantheon was helping Noxus with another war against Demacia. I turned around and threw my blade.

“Woa!” he said, this blonde-haired boy with a triangle under each eye on his face. My blade swung back into my hand.

“Why are you following me?” I asked the boy.

He scratched the back of his neck, “I, uh, was just laying down on a rooftop, and, uh, you passed by me.”

I did not even see him.

“I’ve never seen you before.” He said cheerfully, “Where are you headed?”

He did not ask me where I was from. It seemed he did not care.

“Zaun,” I replied.

His smiled dropped and he looked at the ground, “Oh.”

I turned around and started running again.

The boy was running beside me.

“Wait! Why are you going there? Why not just stay here?”

I glared at him, “I will not have to be around people like you.”

He was now running backwards, “Well I mean I’m not like everybody here in Piltover.”

“Moonfall,” I whispered, drawing in the boy. I held my blade against this throat.

“What do you want from me?” I growled.

He swallowed and looked down at the blade, then he looked into my eyes and grinned.

“Hey, you have markings under your eyes too!” He said, lifting his hand and poking under my eye. I drew my blade back. He was not even a little bit frightened. He also did not point out the marking I had on my forehead. The moon with a crescent below it. It shined white like my hair. He had not even noticed it.

I looked at his left arm. It was a glove that was too large for him.

“How about you come to Demacia with me tomorrow?” He asked.

I shook my head, “Too much light.”

He cocked his head and raised one eyebrow, “Ohhh do you get sunburned easily?”

I rolled my eyes, “You are naive.”

“Nah,” he replied, “I’m just being friendly. Meet me by the ocean tomorrow morning, I have a ship that will bring us there. I’m Ezreal by the way!”

He was being honest. I backed up to the edge of the roof we were standing upon. I looked behind me to see an alley way, a quick way to escape.

\----

“I will think about it,” She said. Then she leaned backwards and fell off the roof.

Ezreal looked over the roof. She had disappeared.

“Wait!” He shouted, “I never got your name!”

He smiled to himself. She was someone he had never seen before. The markings on her face were much different. A crescent eye marking, a crescent blade, and even a crescent below the circle on her head. Ezreal didn’t know exactly why he asked this woman to go with him to Demacia, it just seemed the right thing to do. She looked tired, hungry, and lost. She was going in the right direction to Zaun though. If she had never been around this area before, how did she know where Zaun was? Ezreal didn’t know where she was from. She definitely was not from Freljord. Ezreal’s eyes widened.

 _She came from the Ironspike mountains?!_ he thought, No wonder she was so tired.

Ezreal looked up at the full moon to see it was much brighter.

He lied down on the roof and faced upwards, using his hands behind his head as a pillow. The sky was clear that night.

Ezreal woke up at sunrise and yawned. His back hurt from the rough roof and he was exhausted from the night before. He stood up and stretched before he jumped off the roof. He landed softly and a woman peasant gasped.

“Sorry!” he said to the woman, and began to jog back to his home. He opened the door to find the blue-haired trouble maker on his couch, holding another one of his findings.

“You know I really should report you to Vi, but I don’t want my house to be in ruins.” He said to Jinx, the Loose Cannon.

She looked at her acquaintance, “Eh, I’ll be outta here by then.”

Ezreal was use to these break-ins. He was friends nor rivals with her, but she really did annoy him sometimes.

She bounced up and threw the statue he found in Bandle City to him. He caught it and held it close to his chest.

“Hey!” he yelled, “Be careful!”

“Have I ever broken anything of yours before?”she asked as she fluttered her eyelashes. She never had broken anything, or at least nothing that was personal to Ezreal. He found bullet holes in his already torn up sofa. He looked at Jinx.

“There was a bug crawling on it okay?” She said.

“Alright,” Ezreal began, “you can stay here until I get back from Demacia. You better clean up after yourself.”

“Yes I know now grab your bags and leave.”

Ezreal rolled his eyes and walked to his bedroom. His bags were already packed, courtesy of Jinx. They had made this arrangement many times. Jinx was allowed to stay in Ezreal’s house as long as she kept quiet about it. If she was found, she was to take the blame and say that she broke in without Ezreal’s knowing.

Ezreal left the house with a salute to Jinx and began walking to the docks of the ocean. He crossed his fingers that the woman he saw last night would be there. That was another Jinx didn’t care about -- knowing where Ezreal was at all times. She knew he liked to explore anyway, not really thinking that he was chasing after a random woman at night.

Ezreal arrived at the docks and looked around. _Of course she wouldn’t come_ , he thought, _she is going to Zaun._

Suddenly, someone with a cloak around their body and head walked up to Ezreal.

They looked up at him. It was the woman he saw last night.

“I knew you would come!” He said loudly. She shushed him.

“Why are we going through the ocean on a boat,” she whispered.

Ezreal walked with her to the boat, “Because it’s faster than going over the mountains and through the rivers. And it’s a _ship._ ”

The woman nodded in reply.

“By the way,” Ezreal said, “you never told me your name.”

They walked onto the dock of the boat. The woman grabbed the hood of the cloak and pulled it back to reveal her face. The mark on her forehead was not bright as it was at night.

“Luna,” she said.

“I like that name,” Ezreal replied. He saw she was not carrying any bags with her.

“Wait, if you don’t have bags, where did you get that cloak? And where is your, uh, blade.”

“I stole it. My blade is underneath the cloak, easy to reach and easy to strike.”

“Well then! I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.”

The woman, now named Luna, had a subtle smile. It wasn’t much, but enough to make Ezreal feel satisfied.

“Hey,” he said to Luna, “The ship doesn’t leave till’ another twenty minutes, how about I give you some money and you can buy some extra clothes and all that?”

“That is very kind of you, but I can not repay you.”

“That’s fine! I’ll be in the living quarters underneath.”

Ezreal smiled at Luna again. He reached in his pocket and handed her some gold coins. She lifted the hood of the cloak over her head again, making sure to cover her forehead.

He kept smiling as he unpacked.

\----

 _Luna_ , I thought. What an idiotic name I chose. I did not want to say my real name to Ezreal. I did not want anyone to recognize my name once I arrived in Demacia. I assumed that my story had not reached the city-state, but who knows what could happen. It was safer to lie.

All night I had contemplated what I would decide. Should I continue my journey to Zaun, or should I travel with this random boy to a place full of light? I looked to the moon for guidance, but it said nothing. It wanted me to make my own decision.

When the sun arose, I felt the power in me weaken. I snuck into a clothing shop and stole the cloak, covering myself from the sun. I also did not want others to see my face. It was easier at night, because denizens would think it was their eyes playing tricks on them. In the day they would think differently. Perhaps in Demacia I would fit in. From the stories I had heard on Mount Targon, there was a woman named Shyvana who was half dragon, half human. I would be different, yes, but not noticed fully. If I did not draw in attention, I would just be a normal Demacian.

_Normal._

And that is what made me walk to the boat that morning. I would have a chance to start over.

The boat was only made for two people: the captain, and the passenger. Because I was the extra, Ezreal said that I could take the bed and we could share everything else. I could not remember the last time I rode a boat; I was use to traveling by foot, so I was surprised when the boat had running water. I was drying my long white hair with a towel when I heard a knocking on the bathroom door.

“Are you wearing, uh, clothes?” Ezreal said.

I opened the door which revealed me in a black bath robe.

“Yes,” I replied. I was not shy like most others when it came to bodies. I knew my flaws and I knew my beauties. That was it.

Ezreal held his towels and sleeping clothes close to him as he shuffled in, red faced, closing his eyes not to see me. Right as he closed the door I walked to the dresser and opened the top drawer. The last time I wore sleepwear was the few nights before I was convicted a heretic. The new clothes felt soft on my skin. I could hear the captain snoring from the other room.

 _We better not end up lost_ , I thought.

I brushed my long hair and walked upstairs to the boat deck. The moon shone and I felt the energy grow stronger within me. Which reminded me. When I casted Moonfall onto Ezreal, he did not even react to it. I was confused. I looked up to the moon for guidance. A cool breeze brushed against my body and the smells of the ocean filled the air.

“Luna!” I heard Ezreal call from behind, holding a blanket and a pillow. I waited until he was next to me.

“Want to see something cool?” He asked me. I nodded in response. Ezreal lifted his hand to the sky. A bolt of energy shot up and rose higher and higher into the air, exploding into a firework. He laughed at my shocked expression.

“You are a mage as well?” I asked him.

“Ever since I was born! Well, I always had magic within my veins, but I never studied magic studies. But then I found this amulet,” he held out his arm for me to see it clearly, “and now I can ‘bend the rules’ of magic you could say.” He shot another bolt of magic into the air. He answered what I was asking myself before. He was just like me. But while Ezreal was born with his power, mine was a gift. I closed my eyes and smiled. It was the first time I was content in a very long time.

When I opened my eyes, Ezreal was staring at me.

“What?” I asked him.

“It’s just,” he began, kicking the ground, “your forehead is shining again.”

I frowned, “It always does that at night. Get use to it.”

“Will do!”

I turned and started to walk back to the living quarters.

“Goodnight Luna!” I heard Ezreal say from behind. This man had shown me kindness that I did not deserve.

“Goodnight,” I said back to him, without turning back.

* * *

 

The next morning I woke up from the freezing cold. I changed into my armor and pulled my hair back. I took a blanket and my crescent blade up with me to the deck and found that the ship was covered in snow. The captain was slipping back and forth on the ice covered boat and Ezreal was shoveling off some of the snow. He saw me and waved.

“Good morning Luna!” he said happily, “We are just passing Freljord. I didn’t want to wake you!”

A cryptophoenix flew above us.

“Hey Anivia!” I heard Ezreal yell up to the bird, “Can you do something about this? We’re trying to get to Demacia!”

Anivia looked me into the eyes. She swooped down and landed on the bow on the boat. She kept staring at me. She was a guardian of the Freljord.

Ezreal stepped between us, “She’s new and tagging along with me. Anivia, meet Luna. Luna, meet Anivia.”

The cryptophoenix knew that was not my name. In fact, she knew me well. I had encountered her when I was climbing over the Ironspike Mountains. She guided me to the safer parts to climb. She also found me edible plants to eat and fresh water to drink. She was now probably wondering what I was doing, suddenly traveling to a popular city-state.

I heard a distant noise. The noise of an arrow, coming closer to where I was standing.

I ducked as the ice arrow flew above me. Anivia began screeching loudly. A wave of arrows aimed towards me. I drew out my blade and blocked them. I raised my shield, three spheres circling around me. I saw a figure jumping into my direction. A woman with snow white hair and ice blue eyes. Her bow in her hands was pointed towards me. She rolled forward on the deck and kneeled as she made her next shot. I threw my blade at her, but she rolled out of its range. I raged with the energy from the moon I possessed. I rushed to her before she regained her balance and held my blade above her. At the same time she held an arrow at my throat. Anivia shrieked again and suddenly a giant wave of ice flew us apart on our backs. Anivia flew between us and looked me in the eyes.

 _Do not fight her Diana, she has mistaken you for an enemy,_ a soothing voice said in my ear.

“Luna!” Ezreal ran over to me. He helped me up on my feet as I glared at the woman past Anivia. The archer stood up slowly and rubbed her back. Anivia looked at her and the woman nodded back.

“I am sorry,” the woman said, “I thought you were an enemy of ours.”

“She is with me Ashe!” Ezreal yelled at the archer.

“I thought she was invading, Ezreal.”

“Obviously not!”

The archer picked up her bow (which seemed to be made out of ice) and held her head high.

“I am Ashe, the Frost Archer. I am the queen of Avarosan.”

“Luna,” I replied. A queen, that is what she was. I had almost killed a queen of a tribe. Perfect.

Ezreal stomped over to Ashe, “The same drill as it’s always been Ashe. I just need to get to Demacia. I found Luna and asked her to come with me. She has nowhere else to go.”

 _That is a lie_ , I thought.

Anivia turned towards me.

 _Start a new life in Demacia_ , I heard the voice again. Anivia was staring at me, speaking to me through her mind.

_But be careful Diana, for your lies will consume you._

I nodded to the bird and threw my blade across the icy deck, cracking the ice into pieces.

“Well at least I can walk now,” Ezreal said, grinning.

I met Nunu, the Yeti Rider, who had his Yeti, Willump, push Ezreal’s boat through the icy sea. Finally, we made it out of the cold and the snow had vanished. I turned around to see Anivia and Ashe staring at me. The Yeti made a sad groan. Apparently he had grown a liking towards me in such a short amount of time.

“Sorry about all of that back there,” Ezreal said to me.

“It’s alright,” I replied, giving him a small smile, enough for him to smile as well. When I turned my head back to Freljord, the Avarosan leaders were no longer there. I heard a distant shriek, but that was all.

* * *

 

After two more days, I could see the city of Demacia from a distance. Ezreal began to give me advice.

“First, you should put on your cloak so people don’t freak out immediately.”

I glared at him.

“Just kidding! But put it on anyway” he said, taking a step back away from me.

He continued, “Anyway, you will have to meet Prince Jarvan IV. Now he looks kind of terrifying at first, and he is a lot bigger than me, so I will make the introduction.”

“I feel like I would be the more terrifying one,” I replied to him.

Ezreal chuckled, “If you have that attitude, maybe.”

Ezreal had ways to make me smile. It usually took a lot to do that.

“Who else will I possibly meet?” I asked him.

“Well there are the two siblings, Garen and Lux. They stick together a lot, so you are likely to meet them at the same time. I think you will relate to Shyvana a lot, because she is, uh….”

“Different?” I finished.

“I’m not going to lie to you. Yes, she is.”

The pain of guilt hit me in the stomach. My name was the only lie, I just never told Ezreal about my past. I needed to tell him the truth, soon.

“Ezreal,” I began nervously, “I need to tell you somethi--”

I was interrupted by a large thud. The boat had landed. Ezreal ran to drop the anchor. I ran down to the living quarters and began to pack all of my things into my new bag I carried on my back. I quickly covered myself in the cloak and lifted the hood over my head, tucking my hair in so it could not be seen. I adjusted my blade on the side of my leg so it could not be seen.

I was extremely nervous. My life was to be changed completely.

 

 


	2. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana (well, Luna to everyone else) arrives in Demacia, and she doesn't give the best first impression.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this story and my Dragon Age 2 one that I am working on. DA2 is my first priority, so it may take 1-2 weeks before another chapter shows up on this one. I will try to balance it out more, but do not think I have ignored it. Enjoy!

I stepped off the boat, walking off the sea leg feeling. Ezreal was in front of me, blocking the people who ran up to him to shake his hand.

“Ezreal!” A man with long braids running down his back greeted him, “Glad to see you are back here. How long will you be staying with us?”

“Until I get bored of this place,” Ezreal joked.

The man looked behind Ezreal, “And who is your friend?”

Ezreal stepped back to reveal me, “This is Luna. She is new around here.” Ezreal motioned towards to man, “This is Lucian, the Purifier.”

Lucian looked at me, bending over to see my face. I turned away.

“She is very shy,” Ezreal said, which was not necessarily a lie. He knew I did not want to call attention to myself.

“Understandable,” Lucian replied, “You have nothing to fear though!” He looked at Ezreal again, “So are you headed to Jarvan’s castle?”

“Yep!” Ezreal said.

“Well I keep you no longer. Luna, welcome to Demacia!”

I walked behind Ezreal and glanced around me. Many people were waving to Ezreal and he waved back. We pushed through the crowds. I was treated just as another citizen. I could feel only a few eyes on me, perhaps because I was a newcomer.

“Here we are!” Ezreal interrupted my thoughts. I looked upwards to see a massive castle. The biggest one I had ever seen in my life.

Ezreal saw my shocked expression, “Big isn’t it. We will be in there in a short time!”

I stepped back, “This is not a good idea. I am a stranger to them, you are not.”

Ezreal grabbed my hand and dragged me forward, “It’s okay Luna, I promise. If you show them what you can do, you could join the Demacian army!” I did not want that to happen, but it was too late before I could say no to Ezreal, for a loud trumpet played in my ear as we walked through the gates of the castle. Ezreal squeezed my hand and walked faster. I stumbled along until we reached inside the castle. Ezreal dropped my hand and motioned to follow him.

“We will be walking up the stairs to the top tower!” He said.

My legs were about to explode. Ezreal was use to walking up these stairs. When we reached the top Ezreal knocked on the door and said without looking at me, “Just be yourself.”

 _Yeah, sure_ , I thought.

The man that opened the door was twice the size of Ezreal. The armor made him look even larger.  The crown on the top of his head shined. The prince smiled.

“Ezreal!” he said, “It is good to see that you have returned in one piece.”

“You say that every time” Ezreal laughed. I poked Ezreal in the back. It seemed he forgot I was behind him.

“Oh yeah, Jarvan! I, uh, have a friend with me. Now she is an outsider and--”

Jarvan pushed Ezreal behind him. He looked down upon me.

“Reveal yourself,” he ordered.

“Well that’s the thing Jarvan, she kind of is like Shyvana, she is--”

“Reveal yourself” Jarvan said once again.

I touched the hood of my cloak.

 _Here we go_ , I thought.

I pulled back the hood. I could see my white marking reflection on Prince Jarvan IV’s crown. His eyes widened.

“Are you Noxian?” he asked me.

I shook my head no.

“Where are you from?”

I did not answer. He grabbed me from the hood of my cloak and threw me into his meeting quarters. I landed on my knees.

Ezreal stepped in front of me, “My prince, I just found her in Piltover! She was lost and you should see what she can do!”

The prince ignored Ezreal and pushed him out of the way. He held his lance above me.

“Where are you from!” he yelled.

I did not reply again. I was not afraid of this man, and he knew that. But as an answer, I stood up. I took my cloak off of me, revealing my armor, my long hair, and my crescent blade.

Jarvan IV stepped back. I could feel the marking on my forehead glowing brighter. Dusk was on its way. Jarvan’s eyes spoke death.

Suddenly, a woman flashed in front of me, holding her arms outward. She had horns on her head and was covered in red armor.

“Prince, I will not let you hurt this woman.”

The prince scoffed, “Step away, Shyvana, this is none of your business.”

“No, I saw you through the window, you had the look of blood-thirst when you threw her. She is special Jarvan, like me. I can feel it.”

The half dragon looked over her shoulder, her reptile like eyes burning into mine.

“Ezreal said that you can “do” things? Show me. Let’s walk to the fairgrounds.”

For some reason, I trusted Shyvana. She related to me: Different, outcasted, and judged by others. It was time to prove myself.

Jarvan walked in front, Shyvana behind him, and me behind Shyvana. We walked down what seemed like the never-ending stairs. We passed new hallways and entered what looked like a stadium. The sun was starting to disappear, the moon switching places with it. How big was this castle?

Shyvana ordered me to stand in the center.

“Begin,” she said.

I slammed my blade into the ground and connected myself to the moon. I felt the energy fill in my veins and my blade vibrated against my hands. Minions were released into the arena. I cut through them without rest, every third strike being stronger than the first two. I threw my blade, killing an entire wave of the minions. An ancient golem was released, but the spheres that wrapped around my body consumed the monster’s health. A Lizard Elder tried to attack me from behind, but I flipped backwards and stabbed the reptile in the head. As it fell to the ground I jumped onto the ground and landed into a kneel. My armor did not have a scratch.

Ezreal’s jaw was dropped, Shyvana was smiling, and Jarvan looked down at me with his arms crossed.

“You have proven yourself it seems,” the prince spoke, “but how can we trust you?”

“I never asked you to trust me,” I spoke to the heir of the throne for the first time, “but if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it by now. Easily.”

Shyvana tried to say words between her chuckling, “It’s so true though! She is talented!”

Jarvan IV glared at his ally. She tried hiding her smile, but she was failing at it.  Jarvan sighed. He leaned and whispered something into the half dragon’s ear. She nodded her head and walked towards me. The prince walked away back into his castle.

“Are you willing to join the Demacian army?” Shyvana asked me.

“Never,” I replied, “I have fought enough in my past. I do not care for wealth nor respect. I want to start a new life in peace.”

Shyvana’s expression grew cold. Her hands grew into fists.

“You do not understand,” she said, her voice slowly changing into a monstrous voice, “You would do well in battle. You seem to have the mind of a Noxian, though it is clear you are not. If you help us in the battle coming forth, you will be return to being a regular citizen of Demacia. You will never hear from us again unless you wish to return to join the army.”

I glanced at Ezreal. He was no longer in shock, but instead the look of nervousness on his face, waiting to see what I would choose.

\----

 _Say yes_ , Ezreal thought. Luna’s skill was much more powerful than Ezreal thought it was at first. She would survive the battle against the Noxians swiftly. She had the look of pondering. A realization hit Ezreal.

“The next battle is during a full moon!” Ezreal shrieked. Luna’s eyes widened.

“Is it?” She spoke towards Shyvana.

“Yes,” Shyvana replied, “Valoran law demands that any battle declared must be on a full moon. Therefore the enemies can see one another clearly, human or not.”

Luna closed her eyes, thinking, but as if not only to herself. She opened her eyes to look up at the sky. It had just grown dark.

“Alright,” she said, still looking upwards, “I will only aid this one battle.”

Shyvana grinned, “Excellent. I will tell the prince.”

Ezreal ran over to Luna, “Hey! That means you get to meet all the other famous Demacians!”

“So now I am famous,” she muttered.

“I didn’t mean it like that! I mean you will make, uh, new friends! Who happen to fight with you...and are very well known…I’m not helping am I…”

Luna smiled anyway, “Barely.”

Ezreal sniffed the air, “It seems that dinner is being served in the dining hall, care to join me?” He stuck out his arm into a triangle to escort Luna. She hooked her arm into his, “Of course, but I swear if you embarrass me…”

“Oh you’ll be fine.”

They walked on to the dining hall where other demacian soldiers were eating plates of chicken, steak, potatoes, and other filling meals. Ezreal ignored the glances that were set on Luna, mostly on the crescent blade. Ezreal located Luna to the food which was in a buffet like style.

“Eat whatever you like!” He exclaimed as he handed Luna a plate. She stared at the food in silence. He did not understand why she wasn’t grabbing for food immediately; she had to be hungry.

After a few minutes she walked over to vegetable and fruit section and began piling her plate.

“Are you one of those people who doesn’t eat meat?” Ezreal asked.

Luna grinned, “No, I just do not have an appetite right now.”

“Ohh, well I am feeling the exact opposite right now.”

Ezreal stacked his plate with bread, potatoes, and chicken legs. He motioned Luna to a table, “Let’s sit with the twins! Now just to warn you, you might think Quinn is a little bit crazy, but just get use to having Valor around. We like to call the duo, Demacia’s Wings”

\----

I thought I would just see a sister and brother having a conversation with one another. Valor being a boy that was ignorant, and Quinn being quite odd. I did not expect what I saw. Yes, there was a woman, who had intricate blue armor, a crossbow that laid across her lap as she ate, and eyes that looked like an…

eagle’s.

The massive bird had it’s claws around Quinn’s left arm as she used the other arm to eat. The Demacian Eagle caught my eye first, and then Quinn looked up at me.

“Hello,” she said. Though she looked intimidating, her voice was kind. No one else was sitting with her, most likely because of Valor’s murderous glare. The bird squaked.

“No Valor, she’s just new.” Quinn said to her companion. She smiled and said kindly to me, “Sit down. What’s your name?”

“Luna,” I replied. Quinn was like Ezreal, she did not ask a question about my past. As we ate, Ezreal told her about my “initiation”, and how I embarrassed Jarvan IV. Even Valor made a noise that sounded like a laugh. Ezreal also told Quinn and Valor about our little adventure passing the Freljord.

“Oh Ashe,” Quinn said, “she needs to stop jumping into conclusions. She thought Valor was another cryptophoenix going to kill Anivia. She almost killed him!” She brought her other arm to scratch under the eagle’s chin, “But she has a terrible aim when it comes to long distance. That crystal arrow of hers is very easy to move away from.”

It was obvious Quinn enjoyed our presence. It seemed she was often lonely, which made it easy for me to relate to her. All she had was Valor, and all I had was the moon. Besides Ezreal, I could see her being a future friend of mine.

“Ezreal!” I heard a voice call behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see a petite woman running our direction, her blonde hair flowing behind her, a wand in her right hand.

“Here we go,” Quinn mumbled. Valor made a noise that resembled a sigh.

“Hey Lux! Come meet our new recruit!” Ezreal said, pulling me up on my feet and pushing me forward. Everyones’ eyes were on me now. I glared at Ezreal’s beaming face.

“Hi! I’m Luxanna Crownguard, but call me Lux!” She said as she shook my hand up and down fast, “And here is my brother…”

She looked behind her to see no one was there.

“ _GAREN!_ ” She yelled, swinging her head upwards as if talking to the sky. A man with heavy armor walked into the dining hall, looking exhausted. A large sword was in it’s sheath and the cape the warrior had on was ripped.

“Lux we have fought all day I really do not want to….”

His blue eyes connected with mine. His sweaty brown hair was matted on his forehead. He took off his glove to shake my hand.

“Garen Crownguard, the Might of Demacia.”

 _Oh_ , I thought, _he is almost as big a tool as Jarvan_.

“Luna”, I replied. He held my hand until I was the one to pull away.

“Where did you come from?” He asked me, now examining my markings.

“I…” I stuttered. I could not give my identity away, so what was I suppose to say?

Ezreal was there to save the day, “She is very tired right now Garen, I wouldn’t be asking her too many questions.”

“I only asked her one.”

“It’s been a long day for her--”

Garen picked up Ezreal by the front of his shirt, “You know I’ve had a long day as well.”

Ezreal pushed his arms against Garen’s chest plate, “Well sure but she’s new as well--”

Garen lifted Ezreal up more,“My first day here I had to fight an army of minions, an Ancient Golem, and a Lizard Elder.”

Ezreal pointed at me, “So did she.”

Now _everyone_ was staring in the dining hall. Ezreal started kicking his legs, “Are you going to put me down?”

Garen’s face turned red with anger,  “I’ll tell you what I am going to do to you Piltover filth….”

Garen lifted his fist, aiming for Ezreal’s face.

“ _NO_!” I shouted. I surrounded myself in a pale cascade and brought out my crescent blade. I threw it at Garen’s feet, knocking him forwards. His grip loosened on Ezreal and the Piltover native rolled out of the way in time to not have Garen crush him. My blade made it’s way back towards me and I returned it to my hip.

Quinn started clapping, “At least we all know she’s loyal to her friends.”

Garen lifted his head and looked up at his younger sibling.

“Don’t look at me!” Lux said, “You got yourself into this mess. You deserved it.”

“The prince!” someone shouted. Everyone seised at what they were doing. Everyone dropped to the ground on knee, even Garen picked himself up and bowed his head. I was the only one standing. Well, me and Ezreal that is. Quinn still sat on the bench, eating her dinner, acting like nothing had ever happened.

Jarvan walked into the dining hall and pointed his lance to me.

“You, come with me.”

I was not ashamed at what I did. I was not even in Demacia for a whole day and I was causing more attention than needed.

Jarvan IV and I walked through the castle.

“So are we headed back upstairs to the headquarters?” I asked him.

“No, I want to show you something else,” he replied.

So we walked. I looked at the paintings on the wall and the chandeliers above me. We came to a door and Jarvan opened it for me. I questioned his sudden courtesy, and then I knew why. It was a bedroom, but not just any normal bedroom. What was suppose to be a wall was a window. The cottages and lights were no where to be seen. It was a view of the ocean, the stars, and the moon.

“Beautiful, is it not?” Jarvan asked me. I nodded in response.

“This room was built for guests. So they could see the ocean outside whenever they had nostalgia for their home. But you it seems, you like to watch the moon.”

I walked closer to the window, laying my hand on the glass.

“This room could be yours,” Jarvan continued, “if you would behave yourself. I want to trust you, Luna, but when you attack a fellow warrior--”

“He was going to hurt Ezreal,” I snapped back at the prince.

“Garen would have had the proper consequence.”

“That is a lie,” I said. I was becoming more frustrated, “I taught Garen a lesson. Just because Ezreal is not Demacian does not give Garen a reason to hurt him.”

“And just because you are not Demacian does not give you reason to hurt Garen.”

It was trying to keep my temper down, but Jarvan was pushing it.

“What are you running from?” Jarvan asked.

“Nothing,” I said firmly.

“Why do I think you are lying to me? Did you tell Ezreal?”

“What would I tell Ezreal? I do not have a past.”

 _I am not running_ , I thought, _I am escaping_.

Jarvan’s eyes gazed up on my forehead. I could feel the energy it held and the brightness it released.

“Where are your bags?” he asked me.

“Ezreal has them in his room.”

“Grab your things and bring them here. You will begin training tomorrow morning.”

“Jarvan,” I said before he walked out the door, “Why are you kind to me?”

He answered as if he knew I would ask that question, “Because Garen is one of our best warriors, and if you are a better fighter than he is, you may be our only chance at defeating General Swain and the Noxian army.”

As he left I turned my head back to the night sky

“What have I done?” I asked the moon.

There was no response.

 

 


	3. Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana begins her first day of training.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, I really like writing his story. I have the weirdest cannons.

**_Kill her!_ The Solari leaders cheered, _Burn the witch!_**

**My body is tied around a stake. There is hay surrounding around me. A leader holds a torch.**

_**Today, we are in the presence of a heretic. Diana, Scorn of the Moon, we condemn you to death!** _

**The leader drops the torch on the hay. I am surrounded by fire. I can not breathe. My skin burns.**

**Everyone is laughing.**

**\----**

I woke up screaming. My forehead was burning and I was soaked in sweat. I looked outside the window in the castle bedroom. The ocean was shining from the Sun’s beam; It was early morning.

I threw off the thick blankets and stretched my arms.

 _It was just a dream_ , I thought.

I quickly rose and changed into my armor in the bathroom connected to my room. I stared at my reflection, which looked like I had been crying. I splashed cold water on my face to ease the redness and wrapped the ribbons around my hair to hold it up. My marking’s light started to fade, no longer radiating a white light.

I walked to the dining hall slowly, focusing on slowing my breath. When I walked on attention was drawn to me immediately. I wondered how long this would go on for.

Quinn waved to me from her usual table and I waved back. I walked over to the giant amounts of food. I scooped eggs on my plate and grabbed a few pieces of fruit. Walking over to Quinn and Valor, my hands were shaking. I focused on holding them still.

“How did you sleep?” Quinn asked me. She was feeding Valor a piece of ham.

“Not too well, it has been awhile since I have slept on an actual bed.”

 _Oh and I also dreamed of being set on fire_ , I thought.

“You’ll get use to it. Valor got use to being in a closed space.” Valor made a growling sound.

I looked around and saw that there were not too many people.

“They are all training in the arena,” Quinn answered my silent question.

“You do not train with the rest of the warriors?”

Quinn chuckled, “Hah, ‘warriors’. Valor and I are just scouts, looking from above. Look at the pillars above when you are in the arena, we will be there.”

I finished breakfast and waved bye to Quinn. As I walked to the arena, I passed servants that were mopping the floors and dusting. They did not make eye contact with me. There was yordle on her tip toes trying to dust the head of a statue.

“Here, let me help,” I said, approaching the gerbil-like figure.

“I can do it!” the yordle said nervously in her high-pitched voice. She glanced to see if anyone was around.

“No, really,” I said, “I am not going to hurt you.”

“I know you will not,” they yordle replied, “but master will punish me if he sees me talking to a human.”

I had never met the king of Demacia, Jarvan III, but from this, I could tell he was cruel. I bent down on one knee to see the yordle eye-to-eye.

“What is your name?” I said gently.

“Teedee,” she said.

“My name is Luna,” I said, bringing out my hand to shake hers.

Teedee hesitated, “Touching a human is against the rules.”

I grinned, “Well I guess we are rebels.”

Teehee giggled. Her little blue paw reached out to mine.

“This will be our little secret, okay?” I told her. Teedee nodded back and I grabbed her duster to polish the statue head. I handed it back to her and continued walking to the arena. I could not believe that king would have Bandle City natives work as slaves. I wished I had never met Ezreal. I would not have been trapped in this castle. I could have been at Zaun, safe and free.

First thing I saw was a Magical Construct blasting beams from his eyes to a duelist. She jumped away and laughed.

“Submit! You have already lost,” she taunted in a thick foreign accent.

“Well I’m trying not to kill you.” The creature replied.

“Mhm.” The duelist returned her long sword into its sheath. She turned to me.

“Well look who we have here. You are the one that knocked Garen to the ground correct? I wish I was there to see it.”

“I would rather be training than make conversation,” I said.

She pushed her black bangs out of her face, “You really are cynical.”

 _So that is what people are saying about me_ , I thought. I kept walking forwards to a fenced station that was filled with minions. The other warriors fought them one by one. They took on more damage than the minions. I entered the station through a caged door and took out my blade. I aimed and threw it in its arch. An entire wave of minions lied death on the ground as the blade flew back into my hand. An angel turned their head around. I could not see their face from the headpiece that covered head.

“Very nice,” said the voice, sounding like a woman’s. She flapped her wings flew up to me. “My name is Kayle, and yours?”

“Luna.”

“Ahh yes, Luna. Your little stunt last night has made you quite popular here within the castle.”

_Perfect._

“But don’t worry, Garen knows not to pick on Ezreal ever again.”

_Ezreal!_

“Do you know where Ezreal is?” I asked Kayle, trying not to sound eager.  She pointed behind me. There Ezreal was, battling with a woman with a thick long pony tail, a cape, and red glasses covering her eyes.

The battle was fast. As soon as Ezreal teleported to the woman, she would roll away, and vice-versa. It was hard to keep up with both.

“This way!” Ezreal said, escaping from the woman’s grasp.

“I have no time for nonsense,” she replied. She started shooting at Ezreal with her projectile, but he moved out of the way from each shot. Though there was no specific borders, the two knew to fight in a certain space that would not take up the arena.

I walked closer to the duo. While Ezreal smiled and remained optimistic, the woman had a frustrated look and her jaw was locked. Ezreal caught my eye and stopped running, “Hi Luna! How did you sle--”

Ezreal suddenly was flown back up against the arena wall. He scarf was pinned to the wall from an arrow, putting Ezreal in a difficult pose.

“I win, again,” said the woman, ripping out the arrow and dropping Ezreal to the ground. He stood up and wiped the dust off of him.

“You cheated,” he replied.

“You let your guard down.”

“Point taken….”

Ezreal grabbed my hand pulled me over, “Vayne, this is Luna, she is the new recruit that I told you about!”

I faced him, “You are the one telling everyone about last night?!”

He shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a pretty epic story, Luna. Anyway, Vayne is our very own Night Hunter.”

“I prefer to be independent,” she said to me.

“Yet you still train here!” Ezreal butted it.

“Yes Ezreal, so I can beat you again and again.”

“Aww come on….”

I cleared my throat, “Umm what should I do?”

Ezreal grabbed my hand again, “Well let me introduce you to our fellow champions.”

 _Champions?_ I thought. Ezreal pointed to Kayle, “You met Kayle right? She is the Judicator. Do not mention Noxus around her unless we are in battle with them. She has...family issues.”

I nodded and did not question what Ezreal just said.

He pointed upwards. On the pillar, someone was waving.

“She was being serious,” I said out loud. Valor was flying around Quinn, perhaps giving us a sign of greeting.

Does Valor seriously pick up and fly Quinn up there?

“Now if you look further in that direction you can see Xin Zhao.”

He had a matching lance like Jarvan’s. He was sharpening the weapon slowly.

Ezreal continued, “Alright, so then there is Galio, Fiora, and Poppy. Galio will be nice to you, he always is with the newcomers. Fiora Laurent, the Grand Duelist, is not the kindest person. She will try to duel you, but you should refuse until you watch her tactics. I’ve won against her a couple of times, barely. And Poppy? Well, she puts on a tough skin, but underneath she is a sweetheart. You will only see her during battles though against Noxus. She doesn’t show up here a lot.”

It was almost too much information for me to handle. I learned more about Vayne and realized that most of the Demacians here had lost their family and/or friends. I never had lost anyone I cared about.

I suddenly heard beautiful music. I would not be able to describe it. It was so soothing and peaceful.

“And that,” Ezreal said, “would be Sona, Maven of the Strings. Instead of a voice, she was given the talent to speak through her songs. She doesn’t necessarily kill in battle, but she supports all of us. She is a magnificent healer.”

I looked at Sona. Her blue hair matched with her blue eyes which matched with her blue dress. She was absolutely stunning.

“Well, besides Jarvan and Shyvana, I think I might have covered all of our top warriors. Welcome to the group!”

I started learning how to destroy turrets quickly. Like I said, this arena was massive. I kept at a distance, the turret let out a alarm every time I was too close and there were no minions to cover me. My entire body ached from the amount of times I was shot. The electric bolt was not fatal unlike in real battles, it just left a stinging sensation throughout my body. Others were watching me as I took down turrets faster and faster. I did not know how many hours I was there, but I heard a bell ring loudly.

“It’s the afternoon meal,” Ezreal said to me, “Hold on, you have dirt on your face.”

He took off his scarf and started rubbing my face with it. When he wiped past my marking, I yelped.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Ezreal apologized. I started laughing. I successfully played a joke on him, something I rarely did. Ezreal gave me a light punch on the arm, “Don’t do that! Actually...that was a pretty good one. You get away with it this time!”

I decided to eat more food than usual. I carried my plate of chicken gizzards, broccoli, and a glass of water to my normal spot now in front of Quinn.

“So you saw me, right?” She said, acting as if standing on one hundred foot columns was not a dangerous task. She grabbed one of my chicken gizzards and threw it up in the air, Valor catching it and gobbling it down.

“Yeah, I did,” I said. Ezreal made his way to sit next to me until Lux slid in and took his spot.

“So, how did your first day of training go?” She asked.

I grabbed the end of my hair and showed her the burned tips.

“Does this answer your question.” I said.

She giggled, “Well I think you should train with Garen more, for you guys will probably be working together on the battle field.”

“What?!” I yelled, causing a little bit of attention.

“Well, you guys are both fighters, so it works out.” Lux said, trying not to make eye contact with me.

“Why can I not fight next to Ezreal?” I asked Lux.

“Because Ezreal attacks from a range, he has to have a support with him, such as Sona. She can protect him if takes on damage. Quinn is in Ezreal’s position as well. I’ll be her support, though I am use to attacking as a mage.”

I was not hungry anymore. I pushed away my plate and stood up, “Excuse me.” I walked away, towards my bedroom. I wanted to be alone.

As I turned a corner, I smacked right into what I thought was a wall. As I was falling backwards, an arm reached around me and brought me back upwards. I blinked my eyelids to take away the blurry vision. There was Garen, with his thick armor covering his entire body.

“Are you alright?” he asked me.

“Yeah...I think so.”

I tried to walk past him, but I was still dizzy and almost lost my balance again.

“Here,” Garen said,  “let me help you.”

“No I can...do it...my, that actually hurt.”

Garen grabbed my arm and wrapped it around the back of his neck, “Alright, slow steps. You are going to your living quarters, correct?”

I nodded as a response. My head was pounding, not to mention I had the breath knocked out of me.

We reached my bedroom and Garen opened the door for me. He carefully lifted my arm and placed me in a safe standing position.

“Can you walk to your bed from here?” he asked, looking concerned. I nodded again as a response.

“I can bring a nurse here if you would like.”

“No...I...sleep.” I said as I shut the door in his face. Yes, it was rude, but at that moment I was very incompetent of thinking. I walked to my bed, unhooking my blade down onto the floor, and fell face down, groaning at the pain. I let myself falling into a deep sleep.

 ----

**_Burn him!_ I hear the crowd yell. I am in the riot. I push my way past others, trying to see what the commotion is.**

**_We have someone who is close to our heretic_ , an elder leader spoke, holding a torch in the air.**

_**And because she refuses to return to face her punishment, we shall burn those who she cared for!** _

**It is hard to see anything. I panick. If it was not me tied onto the stake, then who was it? Who did I even care about?**

**I finally shove my way to the front and gasp what is in front of me.**

**It is Ezreal, bruised and beaten. His blonde hair is tangled and has few blotches of what looks like blood.**

**_No!_ , I shout. But nobody hears me.**

**The elder leader drops the torch below the stake and into the hay. Flames appear all around Ezreal. He looks into my eyes.**

**_Help me!_ he screams. But now I can not move. I look at my feet, but they will not budge. I look up again to see Ezreal.**

**He is screaming from the pain, but keeps staring into my eyes.**

 ----

“NO!”, I screamed, sitting myself up in bed. I felt a hand grabbing onto mine. A coolness moved throughout my body. I looked over to see Sona’s worried expression.

“How...did you know?” I asked her between shaky breaths.

She pointed to her ear, and then pointed to the wall that my headboard was facing.

“You are in the room next to me?” I asked her. She nodded. My entire body was shaking. Sona was sitting on my bed next to me. I looked down at our hands to see she was taking energy from her and calming me. My eyes began to water.

“It was my past life, something terrible was happening. I tried to help, but it was too late!”

Sona scooted me over for her to sit next to me vertically.

“I can not tell you what exactly happened. I do not want to have any past life making its way back into my life now.”

Sona nodded and then looked outside my window. It was nighttime. My stomach was growling from a skipped meal.

“No one bothered to wake me up?” I asked the healer.

She touched my head, which led to a shooting pain on my forehead. I winced. Sona laid her hand gently on my marking and I felt coolness once again. The pain was gone.

“Thank you.” I said. She smiled and then pointed outside. I followed her finger to see that she was aiming for the moon. Then she touched my forehead once again.

“Yes,” I said to her, “this marking came from the moon.” Sona lifted an eyebrow.

“All of my abilities are gifts from the moon. I can tell you no more.”

Sona nodded. That’s all she could ever do. She would never be able to tell her story, feelings, or even how she felt about the night sky. But for some reason, she seemed content about it. She could only express through her Etwahl, the beautiful instrument that she played to protect and to comfort.

I turned my head to look at her.

“Sona, could you...stay with me tonight? I am afraid to fall asleep.”

The support pulled the covers over her legs and laid my head upon her chest. She began to stroke my hair as I felt my eyelids slowly closing.

I had just made a new friend.

 

 


	4. Training to Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana is beginning to train much harder as well becoming more popular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are any errors, I have been so tired lately from school and I find myself writing absolute nonsense.

I woke up peacefully, my head now settled on Sona’s blanket covered lap. She opened her eyes, as if she knew I had woken up as well. I lifted my head and stretched my arms upward. I was still wearing my armor from yesterday, which made me very sore. Sona touched my hand, and the soreness disappeared.

“Thank you,” I said to her. Not only for the healing, but comforting me throughout the night. She bowed her head and moved the blankets so she could lift herself off of the bed. Once she left the room, I prepared for the day. My armor stuck to my skin with sweat as I began to take it off. After a bath, I wrapped a dry towel around me and threw my armor into the refilled bathtub. I scrubbed the metal with an extra rag and wiped away all of the flaws. My chest piece was dented from my collision with Garen.

I thought about my previous nightmare. I shuddered at the thought of Ezreal’s body burning. I tried to push the thought out of my mind, but it was impossible. I did not know if it was a simple dream, or a show of the future.

I heard a knock on the door.

“Umm, Luna?” I heard Shyvana’s voice call, “May I come in?”

“If you are alright with seeing me in a towel, you may,” I replied.

I heard the door open and shut and the half-dragon’s footsteps becoming louder.

“You know,” she said, “Poppy can clean your armor, you don’t have to do it yourself.”

I rolled my eyes, “I can do my own cleaning.” I picked up my flawed chest piece and turned to show it to Shyvana, “But can this be fixed?”

Shyvana grabbed the piece from my hands and examined it.

“Hold on,” she muttered, “I can fix this. Turn away.”

I looked back at the armor in the tub until I felt a great warmth and a flash of light. I turned around to see Shyvana make her hand into a fist and slammed my chest piece. Smoke was flowing out of her mouth as she chuckled.

“The benefits of a half dragon,” she said proudly, “I can melt metal.”

She handed the piece back to me and I noticed the dent was no longer there. The armor looked as if it had never been touched.

“Anyway,” Shyvana said, her face turning back to its serious form, “Garen wanted me see to if you were doing alright.”

“Garen?” I said.

“Well of course,” Shyvana replied, “he did knock you out for a good amount of time, and with the battle with Noxus on its way, we need you as healthy as possible.”

I had forgotten about the battle with Noxus. I groaned loudly.

“Now now, we are almost there, and then you can leave this place for good.” Shyvana said, admiring herself in the washroom mirror. “You should hurry what you are doing and put on some clothing. Breakfast is about to end.”

My stomach growled on cue. I did not realize how hungry I was. Shyvana walked out of my room without a goodbye, and I began to hurry. I threw on some Demacian clothing Jarvan IV provided me and slipped on my damp armor. I shoved on my boots and my gloves and before I ran out of the door, I made sure I hooked on my crescent blade. I waved to Teedee as I passed her and entered the dining hall. Servants were cleaning the dishes off of tables. It was practically empty, except for the lovely duo. I filled my plate with bread, slice potatoes, and beef sausage.

“Woman you have the worse bedhead,” Quinn teased.

 _Damn_ , I thought, _I forgot to tie up my hair._

“I like it!,” Quinn added, “Let those white locks be loose. I never knew your hair was so long.”

“I never decided to cut it,” I responded as I sat down in front of her. It was true. I had never really taken the thought of cutting my hair into consideration. I did not mind that it was long, it never got in the way when I held it back with my ribbons, which I did not have then.

“Have you ever thought of dyeing your hair color other than white?” Quinn asked me.

“This is my natural hair color,” I grumbled back. I had been asked that question too many times.

“I think blue would good on you,” Quinn beamed.

“That’s because Valor is blue, Quinn”

“Actually no, whenever we fight in battle together, Valor and I decide to go on this whole “phoenix” thing. My armor and hair are changed to red, and Valor’s feathers change into red.”

I thought about it, “Well I guess it would be interesting.”

Quinn bent closer to me, “Do you know what Valkyries are, Luna?”

“Why yes, they come from Norse Mythology.”

“And do you know what they do?”

“They choose which soldiers will die or live. Then they take the dead to Valhalla, which is ruled by Odin.”

“You really have looked into this haven’t you,” Quinn said, disappointed that she did not get to tell the ancient story.

“What do Valkyries have anything to do with me,” I tried saying in a nice voice.

“Well, I just think it would be a good skin for you.”

“A _skin? "_

“Yeah! A completely different look when you are fighting. How does this sound: Valkyrie Luna.”

 _Valkyrie Diana would sound better_ , I thought.

“Alright,” I agreed, “Are we finished? I want to see the look on Garen’s face when he sees I’m alive.”

That made Quinn laugh, “You know you’re actually really funny. I mean once you get past all of your cynicism and pessimism.”

I rolled my eyes and began to run to the stadium.

The early morning sun burned my vision. I heard clashing metal and Fiora yelling foreign obscenities. I also heard the laughter of Ezreal and I rushed towards the sound.

He was trapped in a bind Lux had casted.

“Come on Lux, that’s cheating!” he yelled at the blonde.

“Well there is no cheating on the battlefield, is there Ez?”

They both smiled to each other, I could not help but feel a little bit of jealousy. I had spent so much time with Ezreal that I forgot that he had other friends too in Demacia, or I at least hoped Lux was a friend.

“Luna!” Ezreal broke my train of thought, “You’re awake!”

I walked over to him, trying not to smile, “Yes, I’m alive. What have you been doing?”

“We’ve just been practicing our abilities. Lux over here says shes going to illuminate me, and next thing I know is that I’m stuck in one of her traps!”

Lux giggled and with a flick of her hand, Ezreal was released of the bind, which made him fall on his face.

“That’s better,” he said. He wiped the dust off of his legs, “Say Luna, have you practiced fighting anyone yet?”

“No.”

Ezreal grinned.

 _Shit_.

\----

“I challenge you!” Ezreal said. He knew it would probably be a tough fight, but he wanted to see what Luna was capable of. He had seen her fight easier enemies yes, but not a fellow Champion.

“I do not want to hurt you,” Luna said to him.

“Dido,” he replied. Ezreal grabbed Luna’s hand and brought her to a corner of the arena.

“So let’s stay in this sort of area, okay?” Ezreal said. Luna nodded in reply and took out her sickle-like blade. Lux walked between the two opponents.

“Are we ready?” she asked. Luna and Ezreal nodded.

“Begin!” Lux announced as she ran out of the way.

Ezreal brought down his goggles to his eyes.

 _Time for a true display of skill._ Ezreal knew that Luna was no easy target, but he knew one thing: Though Luna was much stronger, Ezreal was much faster.

He saw Luna’s blade flying to his direction, but he dodged out of the way, shooting a mystic shot toward her direction. His shots weren’t fatal, but just enough to annoy the combatant. Luna fell backwards as the shot hit her in the chest, her hair covering her face.

 _Her hair!_   Any time Ezreal saw Luna, her hair was pulled back by ribbons. Now Ezreal had a true advantage, but Luna already knew this. She tried getting closer to him, aiming to where her blade would attack.

“You know I do not have the best advantage because you attack from afar.” Luna said, pushing her hair out of her face.

“Well in battle, anything can happen!” Ezreal replied. Luna huffed and surrounded herself in a pale cascade as she ran towards Ezreal, but he teleported away and shot her again.

Hours had past, lunch was skipped, and yet Luna still did show one sign of exhaustion. Every time she fell down in the dirt, she would quickly pull herself back up. Ezreal also had not broken a sweat. He was use to these long fights.

Other warriors had created a circle around the two non-Demacians. They watched as Ezreal would force the mage away from him, and how Luna’s blade would trip Ezreal onto his face. If she got lucky, Luna was able to drall Ezreal towards her and smack him in the chest with the butt of her blade.

Ezreal once again teleported past Luna and shot her backwards. He decided to end the fight. He prepared his Trueshot Barrage, and before Luna could think her next move, the missile hit her like a wave. Ezreal watched her breathe heavily as she lied on her back. Few warriors came to pat Ezreal for his victory, and he really did think the battle was over.

Until he heard the noise of metal hitting the ground.

\----

I was weakened.

But then I heard the call of Valor. I opened my eyes and saw Quinn waving from the top of the tall pillar. She was yelling as loud as she could.

“ _DON’T YOU DARE LET EZREAL BEAT YOU OR I WILL LOSE ONE HUNDRED GOLD!_ ”

 _So they betted on me_ , I thought. But for some reason, I wanted to help Quinn win that bet.

So I held my grip tighter on my blade, slamming it down to help me kneel on my right knee. I helped myself up, slowly, until I was standing straight with my shoulders back. Warriors were backing away from me as I could feel my marking brighten. Ezreal grinned.

“Now we’re talking.”

Ezreal teleported towards me again, but I rolled out of the way and hooked him with my blade. His scarf ripped off and he gasped.

“That was my favorite one!” he said.

“Looks like you will just have to buy a new one,” I replied.

I became faster. I would never be able to catch up to Ezreal, but I could perform my abilities much quicker.

“ _Deny me no longer!_ ” I heard myself yell.

I saw Ezreal preparing for his next teleport, but I was quicker this time. I rushed towards his body. It was a skill that was almost similar to a teleport, but much stronger. I grabbed the back of Ezreal’s head, slammed him to the ground, stepped on his chest, and held my blade to his neck, just as I had a long time ago when I had first met him.

I heard a clap, and then another. Few more joined in and then suddenly, everyone was clapping for me.

“Yeah Luna!” I heard Kayle cheer for me. Even Vayne, who seemed to be extremely serious when it came to training, was smiling.

I looked down at Ezreal again, he rolled his eyes.

“Okay people that’s enough. I went easy on her.”

“ _Connerie_ ,” Fiora said in her native language.

“It’s true!” Ezreal yelled back at her. Obviously he had heard Fiora say that word to him many times.

“Luna, your blade near my throat for this long is making me uncomfortable,” Ezreal grumbled. I brought back my blade and reached out my hand to help him up.

“I’ll buy you a new scarf, how about that?” I said to him.

His eyes lit up, “Well now when you say that...sure yeah you beat me. By the way I like blue.”

The bell rang for dinner. I did not realize that was how long we had been fighting. I could not imagine how long it would be for the battle against Noxus. It would be almost non-stop fighting for days, except for when we needed to buy items to help build our strength and maybe a piece of bread to be eaten on the way back to the battle zone.

As we began walking towards the dining hall, I asked Ezreal how long were the battles against Noxus.

“Hopefully with you, it will only be from twelve hours to a two day range. We’ll have you save your energy during the day, so at night you can be prepared,” Ezreal told me.

I filled up my plate with bread again and a chicken leg on a different plate. Quinn was counting the gold she won.

“So you actually betted on me?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah, duh. Fiora said you couldn’t do it, but she was wrong.” Quinn petted her companions beak, “I’m going to buy Valor a nice rabbit to eat.”

A mug of ale was slammed in front of me. Garen sat next to me.

“Congratulations,” he said, “on you first victory. We will need that in actual battle as well.”

“Oh can you guys just _please_ get over it?” Ezreal complained as he sat down next to Quinn (well, next to Valor), “It happens to everybody!”

But for some reason it was different with me. I was this new mysterious woman. A human too. A human with a mysterious past with peculiar powers.

 

* * *

 

More and more people were trying to sit with me during meals when I use to only sit alone with Quinn, Valor, and sometimes Ezreal and Lux. The training was becoming harder and I made a name for myself. I was slowly defeating every “champion”, even Fiora. Unlike Demacians, who fight with finesse and swiftly, apparently I fought in a more aggressive style. There were always the rumors that I came from Noxus. Jarvan IV still closely watched me, sending Shyvana every morning to see if I snuck out of the castle, which I never did.

Ezreal and I did not talk as much as the battle drew near. I needed to focus on my melee fighter skills, and Ezreal needed to focus on his marksmanship. Besides meal times, I never saw my best friend. As for Quinn and Valor, I would wave to the highest pillar every morning, Valor giving a loud shriek back.

My nightmares came and went. Some nights Sona would rush in as I screamed in terror of the image of my close friends on fire. Valor was chained and Quinn would scream like the eagle. I even dreamed of Sona in flames. She could not speak, but the horror in her eyes expressed the pain. At one point my scream was so loud that I woke up Teedee, her bedroom being the room above me. The yordle would rush in and I would explain to her what happened. She made herself into a little ball and would cuddle up next to me. The nightmares were terrible, but I had those who helped me sleep the rest of the night.

Finally, the day arrived for the Demacia and Noxus War. I was sitting on my bed arguing with Quinn.

“I am not wearing that!” I said.

“Oh come on Luna, it’ll make you look sexy in battle.”

“I do not want to look sexy! How do you even know it will fit me?”

Quinn raised an eyebrow, “Are you insecure Luna? Because I mean, you shouldn’t be. I worked hard on this and Valor even gave up some of his feathers to stylize it. The valkyrie idea inspired me!”

I sighed. Quinn was guilt tripping me. Not to mention Valor’s death glare when she mentioned he “gave up” a few feathers.

“Fine,” I said, “but this better at least protect me in some way.”

“Of course it will! I’m not trying to kill you!”

I began to change into the unfamiliar armor. It was awkward. It had purple and blue wings on the back and big metal disks around my hips. My torso was almost fully exposed, leaving an open area for a knife to drive through. But if Quinn said it would protect me, I would just have to take her word for it.

I looked at my reflection from the full length mirror next to my windows. I did have to admit, Quinn did a good job.

“Now here is the part you might not like,” Quinn interrupted my thoughts, “First, I would like to have your hair blue and your blade purple, which I still have to figure out how to do that. Next, I...umm.”

“What Quinn,” I persisted.

“Can you tell the moon to, uh, make your marking gold?”

“What?!”

“It will work with the outfit really well! It matches the golden spots on the armor! So, are you okay with those?”

The Mount Targon teachers taught their pupils that if we called on the sun for spells to be casted upon themselves, it was possible, but no student was ever dedicated enough the sun. They could not receive any of the sun’s gifts. Except for my long time rival Leona.

“When the moon rises, perhaps I could ask it to fulfill your...design.” I said.

Quinn’s eyes widened at my final agreement, “You are going to look stunning while cutting a minion’s head off!”

I had to smile at that. Besides Ezreal, I could almost tell Quinn everything.

Almost.

I waited till sunset to leave my quarters. I walked nervously to the courtyard of the castle. My hair was no longer in its ribbons, but brushed and it flowed around my body. I could feel it touching the end of my fingers. I took a deep breath before I opened the door to the courtyard.

Nobody saw me at first, not until Quinn ran over to me and squealed.

“Oh my Luna you look so _beautiful!"_ (Quinn obviously already knew what I looked like, she just wanted to show off her work.)

Quinn’s hair was red. Very red. She was not wearing the headpiece she wore everyday and her clothing was a deep purple instead of it’s royal blue. Her crossbow was gold instead of silver.

 _Now I see why she wanted me to wear purple and gold_.

And then there was Valor. He was as red as Quinn’s hair. Instead of his silver armor, he too was wearing gold. He also an even deeper red headpiece and a golden collar.

“How the hell did you do that Quinn?” I asked her.

“Oh I have my ways” she replied.

I looked up to meet everyone’s eyes. They all stared at me. The moon began to show.

“Luna,” Quinn whispered, “You should try doing the thing we discussed earlier.”

I frowned. I did not even know if the moon could do such things, but I was dedicated to moon more than anything else. I faced the moon and imagined the look in my mind. Blue hair, as blue as Valor’s when he’s not a phoenix. A purple tint on my blade, that would emphasize and be one with the darkness the moon brings.

And for my marking to shine with golden light. It was ironic. For my forehead to brighten like the sun when I worshiped the darkness.

I felt energy throughout my body. A wind blew my hair back and I could feel the heat of my blade on my leg. My marking felt ice cold, and this all happened less than a minute.

I turned around to Quinn, she covered her mouth in shock.

“What?” I asked. _Please do not tell me I look too horrific_.

“You look like everything I thought of,” Quinn spoke softly, “And your _eyes_ , oh they are beautiful.”

There was a silence in the courtyard until a horse footsteps were heard. Garen was walking along side a white stallion. He stopped right when his gaze landed on me. He walked from the horse closer to me and cocked his head.

“It is still you Luna, correct?”

“Yes,” I hissed. Did I really look that different? But I looked at my reflection in Garen’s armor, and I had a hard time recognizing myself as well. My eyes were filled with a gold light that matched with my marking. The blue hair collaborated with my pale face, giving off a more intimidating look. I liked it.

Garen took a step back, “I am sorry. It is just that I am not use to this new, um…”

“Style?” Quinn chimed.

“Yes!” Garen finished, “A new style.”

“ _YOU LOOK SO PRETTY LUNA!_ ” Lux yelled across the courtyard. That just drew more attention.

 _Thanks a lot Lux_.

“Where’s Ezreal?” I asked Garen.

“He is late, as usual.” He replied, frowning that I even asked the question.

There was an awkward silence between us. Garen and I had practiced fighting together in training. I was going to spend an extended amount of time with him.

“Are you ready?” He asked me.

“Well I am not the most enthused,” I muttered.

“I meant as are you ready to fight.”

“I always am.”

I heard Garen sigh, giving up on having a conversation with me. I reminded myself on what all of the positions were. There were the the carriers, such as Ezreal, the tanks and fighters, like myself, the junglers, such as Shyvana, and the warrior who led through the middle of the battlefield, Jarvan IV.

I heard a dog whistle and turned around. There was Ezreal with his arms crossed and his eyebrows raised.

“Look what we have here,” he said in a sensual voice.

“Shut up,” I snapped back, “It was Quinn’s idea. My entire middle torso is exposed.”

“Well hopefully no one will aim for your cute little belly button.”

I glared at him as he chuckled to his own joke.

“Oh come on Luna, cheer up!” Ezreal said as he walked towards me and grasped my hand, “Now you stay alive, okay? I’ll see you at the end, alright?”

I nodded, “You too Ezreal. I would hate to visit your grave in Piltover since I would have to sail pass the Freljord.”

“Goodness woman, you really like to keep things on the bright side!”

Ezreal squeezed my hand, and it took me everything not to hug him, though I wanted to so badly.

“Prepare for battle!” I heard Jarvan call. I separated from Ezreal, our fingers lingering into one another.

I did not look back at Ezreal as I walked with Garen outside of the castle gates, marching towards Summoner’s Rift.

 _Let the battle begin_.


	5. Meeting New Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle between the Demacians and Noxians has begun, and it is time for Diana to show what she's got.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty long, so I left it at a cliff hanger so I could work on the second part.  
> Ideas are appreciated.

We arrived to the Field of Justice before the moon was at it’s peak. We marched for hours and I was surprised that nobody was tired. I thought I would be the only one, since I am best awake at night when the full moon is risen.

“We will make base camp here!” Jarvan shouted to his army. I set my own camp, away from the rest of the Demacian army. I laid out my bedroll, sat down and crossed my legs, and began to meditate.

I prayed to the moon for strength, bravery, and logic. I prayed for the safety of myself and the safety of others. I prayed for my friends, mostly focusing on Quinn and Valor, Sona, and Ezreal. I felt the wind blow through my hair and my gold marking glow slightly as I became one with the moon.

“You really like being an outcast, don’t you?” Ezreal said, interrupting my meditation. I glared at him, “I am preparing for a long fight Ezreal, I need quiet and time to be alone.”

I glanced over to him. He had sat next to and was staring at me thoughtfully, “It’s pretty scary the first time. Don’t worry, we all have been in your position.”

I nodded back. Ezreal grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze. I glared at him.

“You will not die,” I told him. He laughed.

“Oh please Luna it is you I’m worried about.”

As he stood up he rubbed the top of my head, “Blue hair huh? You’ll be invisible tonight, but I like the white honestly. You stick out more.”

He walked away, I was alone again. I breathed in and out.

“Prepare!” Jarvan ordered. I stood up and bowed my head once again to the moon. I felt sick inside for how nervous I was. I walked over to Garen and Lux, hugging each other before they parted.

“Be safe,” Garen said to his little sister, “Remember to set sight wards in the bushes.”

Lux nodded her head, holding back tears. She jogged away. Lux was very young to be fighting in battle, but then, so was I.

“Follow me, we will be heading up the battlefield,” Garen told me, already breaking out into a light jog. I followed him, hiding through bushes and searching for enemies.

“The minions should be here any time soon.” Garen whispered. I pulled out my crescent blade. We waited until we saw the little monsters in sight. I began to raise my blade until Garen grabbed my arm and threw me down. He covered my mouth before I could curse at him.

“You will give our position away,” he said right into my ear, “Now then, carefully look through the bushes and see if any of your abilities can help you find the enemy.” He released his hand from my mouth and it took me everything not to spit in his face.

I crouched and watched the moon’s beam. I could see shadows reflecting against the moon.

“There is a man holding an axe, he is wearing a cape,” I whispered to Garen.

“That is Darius, the Hand of Noxus. That means his brother is here. Draven, the Glorious Executioner. Draven will be where Ezreal is.”

 _Goodness, I do not have to know their role right after their name_ , I thought. I looked closer to the other enemy.

“A...wolf?”

Garen looked surprised, “Warwick, the Blood Hunter?”

“Uh, I guess.”

“What is he doing here? I thought he would be in Zaun.”

My stomach dropped. My face became pale (even more than it already was). I absolutely froze.

“Luna, is there something wrong?” Garen asked.

“N-no,” I stuttered, “I just did not no we were fighting Zaun as well.”

“We are not, Warwick just helps Noxus. Like how Ezreal helps us when he visits from Piltover.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was suppose to meet Chairman Magnus Dunderson when I arrived in Zaun and proclaim sanctuary. Though the chairman would not have known about my arrival, he would have accepted me instantly, unlike Jarvan.

“Aim your blade to hit both of them.” Garen commanded.

I brought my blade back and tried to look through the bushes, but it was impossible.

“Do not try to protect me,” I told Garen. Before he could grab me, I jumped out onto the dirt path and threw my blade. The man and wolf were left stunned as my blade flew back into my hand. What was this mysterious woman who just tried to kill them? Well, me, of course.

The man gathered himself and swung his axe toward me, but I stooped down just in time. The wolf let out a great howl and he began to run faster towards my direction. I lifted my shield and he flew back as he came into contact with one of my exploding spheres, increasing my shield even more. I could hear a deep growl escape this throat.

“Luna!” I heard Garen yell. He jumped in front of me blocked Darius’s axe from cutting me through.

“Well well Garen, we meet again!” the Noxian man said, “Who is this new beauty?”

I spit in his direction.

“Oo, I like a woman with attitude. Nice tattoo by the way. Didn’t know girls were tough enough to go as far as their foreheads.”

Suddenly, Warwick dashed in front of me and swung his claw, hitting me in the jaw. I touched my jaw and brought my hand back to reveal blood.

“You really should not have done that,” I said to the mutant as I stood up.

“All the better to eat you with my dear!” he said in a deep voice.

“That makes no sense,” I replied, throwing my blade again. Warwick fell into the ground and I swiped my blade closer to his body, cutting through minions.

“One...two…” I prepared for my third strike, my blade radiating.

“THREE!” My blade cut through Warwick’s chest and the minions around him.

Blood began to pour out and he crawled away into the woods, retreating. Darius was on top of Garen now, punching him in the face. I jumped across the duo and grabbed Darius by his cape, rolling him over with me. I held my blade at his neck.

“Oh come on sweetheart, don’t make me hurt you.”

I became confused, and next thing I knew, Darius punched me in the chest. It was double the pain I thought it would be. Darius was now on top of me.

“That’s what I call my Crippling Strike deary. I did not want to punch that ink of yours.”

I spit in his face and rolled out of his grasp, “It is _not_ a tattoo.”

Darius stood up and wiped his face.

“I really did not want to do this,” he said. He brought his blade above him, leaping towards me, aiming to cut my head in half.

Suddenly, I heard a noise above me. I looked up to see a massive sword falling from the sky at a fast speed. I flipped backwards and watched the sword plunge Darius into the ground, killing him instantly.

I looked next to me to see Garen pulling his own sword out of the ground.

“Do not ever hesitate when you have the chance to kill your enemy,” he told me in a harsh voice, “Do you understand?” I nodded.

A loud howl filled the air. “Warwick is almost here,” Garen said, “and Darius will be back soon as well.”

“Wait,” I said, “we come back to life?!”

“I will explain it later!” Garen yelled as he started running into the jungle, “Distract Warwick! I’ll come from the back!”

I was left alone. I kept myself ready, breathing steadily. The Blood Hunter ran into my view.

“Here boy!” I teased, “Who’s a good dog?”

“This ends...now,” he snarled.

Warwick appeared in front of me and began to swipe me his claws repetitively. I brought up my shield and my spheres attacked him three times. Warwick backed away and sniffed the air.

“It seems you have a friend who will not survive for long,” he said, grinning with his sharp white teeth. He dashed out into the jungle, and I followed. He was fast, but I could still see him in sight. I found myself being in the middle of the entire jungle. Shyvana was fighting a woman. Well, half woman and half snake. Shyvana’s armor was covered in her own blood, and Warwick was closing in from behind.

“ _SHYVANA!_ ” I screamed. She turned around and saw Warwick. I threw my blade and barely caught him, slowing him down.

But it was too late. Shyvana screamed as she fell to the ground, dead.

“ _NO!_ ” I cried. Then her body disappeared, as if it was never there.

The snake woman and Warwick turned their eyes on me. I backed up, until I hit another person. I turned around to see it was Darius. I was closed in.

“Who iss thiss,” the snake woman hissed.

“This is a new Demacian recruit,” Darius said, pushing me forwards to the middle.

“Ahh,” she replied, “I am Cassiopeia, the Serpent’s Embrace, I guess you could ssay. I have never sseen you before. You are Demaccian born?”

I did not respond.

“I ssee.”

Poison was flown into my face by Cassiopeia. I yelped at the burning sensation.

“You are not going to have a quick death,” Darius said behind me, “We will make sure of that.”

They treaded towards me. I held my blade in front of me. I would not go down without a fight.

“Noxians,” I heard a familiar voice, “I hate those guys.”

Everyone including me snapped their heads towards a smiling Ezreal. He gave me a quick wave.

“Luna, I think you know what I’m about to do.”

I ducked quickly as Ezreal gained energy to shoot the wave of massive energy. The three enemies that were once around me were on the ground, dead. They disappeared.

I ran to Ezreal.

“I have no idea about what is going on! Darius was killed, but now he is alive, and Shyvana has died, but I'm guessing she comes back to life! _What is going on?!_ ”

Ezreal patted my shoulder, “Garen taught you nothing, did he?” Ezreal sighed.

“Okay, well the Fields of Justice are very complicated. See, in a real battle, Shyvana would actually die, but because the prince is all into these “civil” battles, we have to follow the specific rules of justicy.”

“Justicy is not a work Ezreal.”

“It is now! Anyway, the more into the battle you die, the longer it will take you to come back to life. There is this myth that all Champions are run by Summoners. They are sort of like a God-like figure. I’ll take you to the Demacian library after all of this. It has everything you need to know. ”

I tried taking all of the information in, “So who wins in the end?”

“Whoever retreats first! It seems simple, but you would be surprised how difficult it actually is,” Ezreal replied. He seemed to be in a good mood with all this mass murder that was going on.

“Well, I got to get back to the lower lane, you should hurry back up to Garen. I’m sure he’s getting pretty lonely.” Ezreal winked as he ran the opposite direction. So I had already been saved two times, and I had only been fighting for less than an hour. I ran back up to see Garen swirling through minions, which looked ridiculous. It somehow made me giggle. Garen stopped his swirling and his eyes widened, shocked that I even had a happier side.

“Very nice twirling,” I said. Garen glared at me and chopped off a minion’s head. I saw him trying to hide a smile. We killed the rest of the enemy minions and waited for Darius and Warwick to return.

 

\----

Ezreal jumped over Draven’s axes and rebuttled with a shot to the arm. When he landed, Morgana’s bind trapped him. Ezreal flinched at the shooting pain throughout his body. He felt himself quickly healed by Sona’s Aura of Perseverance.

“Thanks Son!” He yelled behind him, too lazy to say the second syllable. Ezreal fired out a flux that shot its way through Draven’s and Morgana’s body. Morgana infected the soil under Ezreal and he quickly moved out of the way of the poisonous circle.

“Where is my sister?” Morgana asked Ezreal as she protected Draven with a black shield.

“Well she’s not here in this general area,” Ezreal said as he broke through Morgana’s shield, shooting Draven in the face.

“Can we not have this conversation?!” Draven yelled as he picked his axes off of the ground. Sona played a Hymn of Valor and the bolts of sound hit Draven in the face again. She smiled and played a laughter-like tune on her etwahl.

Something flashed in front of Ezreal. Sona played a loud tone of pain and quickly, the support disappeared into the ground. A flash of red appeared beside him and he shot the well-known assassin away from him. Morgana and Draven both stopped attacking.

“Hello there...Katarina.” Ezreal said. The Sinister Blade crossed her arms, each dagger sticking out.

“Hello there Ezreal. Where’s Garen?”

Ezreal shrugged his shoulders, “Obviously not here. It always seems like someone is looking for somebody else. Nobody ever seems to look for me.”

Katarina crossed towards Ezreal and cut off a piece of his hair.

“Hey!” Ezreal whined, “Why the hair? Come on, it had to be the hair?”

“I guess I thought you needed a haircut,” Katarina said, “By the way, I saw your new recruit. She uses some of your fighting styles. Interesting.”

Before Ezreal could reply Katarina disappeared back into the jungle.

Ezreal was confused, but he paid attention to the rest of the battle. Sona was back, but this time she was playing a tune directed to Ezreal.

“Sona, this isn’t the best time for me to solve one of your riddles,” Ezreal said as he teleported away from Draven’s blood rush. Sona kept playing a worried song.

“Alright, give me syllables Son.” Ezreal heard four short low notes.

“Katarina,” Ezreal said. Sona nodded. Ezreal’s mystic shot drained the rest of Morgana’s health, leaving Draven. Sona moved her sound waves around Ezreal’s head.

“My hair? Yes I know Sona, Katarina cut my hair, you don’t have to remind me.”

Sona banged on her keys again. Ezreal rolled his eyes, “Alright keep going.”

Draven threw his blades again, but Ezreal rolled out of the way, a roll that he learned from Luna, and shot Draven’s feet. Sona banged on the keys hard.

“Oh that roll?” Ezreal asked. Sona nodded. “Well Luna taught me that?” Sona banged on her keys loudly again. Hitting a neutral note two times.

“Luna?” Ezreal guessed, and Sona responded with a high C.

“ _Goodness woman you are going to make me deaf!_ ” Draven yelled as he threw his blades in her direction. Ezreal shot the axes out of line.

“What about Luna?” Ezreal asked to the silent string player. Sona played the four small low notes again.

“Luna and...Katarina?”

Sona banged on the high C.

“What would Katarina do to Luna?”

Sona moved her sound waves to Ezreal’s hair.

“ _DIE SUPPORT!_ ” Draven said, but Sona turned towards the Noxian and let out her Crescendo, killing the man instantly.

Ezreal cocked his head to the side, “So what you are saying is that Katarina cut off my hair, and she is going to…”

Ezreal froze. Sona played the high C softly.

“Sona, I’ll send Vayne down here, I know what Katarina is planning.”

Ezreal began to sprint into the forest

 

\----

Garen and I were gaining more strength fighting off the minions.

I had returned to camp a few times to buy and supply myself with better armor and energy potions.

Suddenly, a giggle ringed out. Garen swinged me back behind him and held his sword out.

“Alright Katarina, reveal yourself,” he warned.

“Oh but this is too much _fun!_ ” The woman teased, still out of sight.

“Garen, what is going on?” I asked.

“Oh yes. I have been watching you new recruit,” the woman’s voice echoed around me, “And I am impressed by the way you fight and your abilities.”

“Do not listen to her,” Garen said, “She is very manipulative and will cut your throat whenever she has the chance.”

Katarina appeared from the bushes. She had dark red hair and black armor. A scar trailed down one of her emerald green eyes.

“Well that’s not very nice,” she purred.

Garen kept himself in front of me. I had never seen him so protective before, even with Lux.

Katarina walked closer, “You should let me see your friend better Garen.”

“You do not belong in this area Katarina,” Garen growled back.

The assassin let out a burst of laughter, “Oh no? Are you frightened of me Demacian warrior?”

“You only wish it were true,” Garen replied.

The Noxian sighed before she spoke, “Well I got so bored. The bottom path was just so easy.” Katarina reached into her sheath to pull out a lock of blonde hair.

_Ezreal._

“He gave in _so_ quickly. I think his body is still pouring out blood though, I wanted him to have a slow death.”

I lifted my blade and began to run towards Katarina, but Garen yanked me backwards.

“She’s lying, trying to lead you off guard,” Garen said.

“But I must had to be close to get such fair of his. I do not think it is light enough to be Lux’s. Silly boy.” Katarina pouted.

I tore myself from Garen and threw my blade hard towards Katarina. She jumped over it and chuckled.

“Oh, I am going to love this.” Katarina ripped out her blades from her belt and threw one, aiming for my face. I ducked, but I could hear the whooshing noise as the blade flew above me.

“So you are quick!” the red-head exclaimed, “Did you learn that from little Ez?”

I revolved myself with my shield and ran towards her, but she suddenly disappeared.

“Luna, turnaround!” Garen yelled, but it was too late. I felt the tip of a blade on my back.

“Silly girl,” she whispered in my ear, “I am not like the others. In fact, I am similar to you.” She sprinted into the woods.

I chased after her, following her cruel laughter. A dagger would be thrown but I knew to roll out of the way.

“I saw Ezzy do that right before I slaughtered him!” Katarina yelled as she ran. I began to run faster, taking energy from the moon. I saw Katarina run up a tree and then there was silence.

I looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen. I closed my eyes and saw what the moon could see. She was sneaking behind me again, but before she could strike, I turned around swiftly and picked her up by the neck, “I am nothing like you.” Katarina whipped herself in a circle and threw a blade in…

the right side of my rib cage.

 

 


	6. No Turning Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana's true nature reveals itself as the battle ends and the future begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah this chapter is pretty sad, but the next one I am working on is not going to be as solemn.  
> I am hoping to add some type of comic relief but it's kind of hard when you are in the perspective of a morbid depressive character.  
> By the way, my editor for my Dragon Age 2 fic does not edit this, so do not be surprised by all of the grammar errors. If you could point them out, I would very much appreciate it!

The pain spread throughout my abdomen and I felt numbness in my legs. I fell to my knees and covered the wound with my hands, feeling the blood trying to push out. I tried to reach my blade that had fallen out of my hand, but Katarina’s boot was stomped on it. She crouched down and lifted my chin with her dagger.

“You see,” she began, “the only _being_ in Valoran who knows how to fight me would be the man who was trying to protect you.”

Katarina lifted both of her arms, each one holding a blade. I ducked my head and closed my eyes as she brought them down.

But the knives never did stab me. I opened and bent my head up to see Garen’s sword blocking Katarina’s attack. I saw her scarred eye squint in frustration.

“You interrupted me, Garen,” Katarina hissed.

“Well I do not think Luna needs to experience her first death from you,” Garen replied, “And especially from her first battle.”

Katarina backed away, “I know that Garen, but she needs to learn a lesson to not try to attack others who are highly superior than she.”

She connected eyes with me, “Well I guess I will not kill you this time. Until we meet again, then you shall die.”

Katarina nodded her head towards Garen, and then she was gone. Just like that.

I heard more rustling through the bushes and I grabbed my released blade and held it in front of me, my left hand on my bloody slash.

Ezreal’s face appeared. He looked at my gash, and then into my eyes.

“Katarina did this,” he said. His face changed. Ezreal’s warm kind eyes were now cold and filled with hate.

“I’ll kill her!” he cried out. He ran towards me and took off his new scarf. He fitted it over my head and brought it lower till it set itself down on the puncture on my right, below the ribcage.

“She did not stab in the exposed area of my armor,” I managed to say, trying to not show signs of extreme pain.

“She was warning you,” Garen said, standing above me.

I spoke to Ezreal as he applied health potion to the tear, “She told me that she…” I could not finish it.

“Killed me.” Ezreal answered. He somehow knew that Katarina was planning to injure me.

Ezreal looked up at Garen, “Can you help me lift her up?” Garen inserted his sword into his sheath.

“Can you stand?” he asked me. I lifted myself slowly, my legs shaking. My vision was foggy and I felt light headed.

“We have to get her to Sona, now!” Ezreal commanded. Garen picked me up with both arms and began to run, Ezreal at his side. At some points I cried out from the pain when Garen would step on an uneven surface.

I was ashamed of myself. I had been saved three times in one battle, and it was not even close to being over. I did not shed a tear. I refused to let the two men see me cry.

We reached the bottom lane where Sona was fighting off what looked like a fallen angel.

 _Morgana._ She looked like someone I had seen before, when I looked closer through my blurry eyes I could see a resemblance to...Kayle.

 _So that’s what Ezreal meant by family issues_ , I thought.

Sona stunned Morgana and played a harsh key on her instrument when she saw me. Vayne ignored me (which I was very grateful for) while she fought a tough battle with Draven. I could hear Valor’s shriek.

We hurried to camp, where Jarvan was just about to leave from applying new armor.

“What happened!” he barked.

“Katarina,” Ezreal replied. Jarvan nodded, “Bring her to my tent, quickly.” I felt the cool surface of the soft ground and groaned from the agony of the laceration. I felt the scarf being taken off my body and heard the ripping of my armor. Sona lifted her hands above me (Ezreal’s potion could only do so much) and I felt the cool magic. Ezreal was kneeling beside me.

Though Sona was healing my body, it did not mean it would be a pleasant experience. I could see Garen and Jarvan’s shadows outside of the tent, it seemed they were in a deep discussion that I could not hear.

Soon, the pain vanished and my tense body relaxed. I sat up slowly.

“I will not rest until the battle is over,” I said, “I know you all may worry, but I will not make the same mistake.”

I stood and walked out of tent at a quick pace, walking past Jarvan.

“Luna!” the prince barked, “I will not have you return to battle. You are still a recruit and you follow orders as long as you stand Demacian.”

Jarvan could not see my grin.

“Well the thing is, Prince Jarvan IV, I am not Demacian.” I slashed my blade out and sprinted up the top lane. I killed few monsters in the jungle before I began to scout out the Noxian enemies. I passed Poppy and Galio taking down Warwick, and Shyvana was having her revenge with Cassiopeia. I spotted Valor flying in the sky and I waved to him. He dived down towards me and next thing I knew, Quinn was standing next to me, arrows surrounding us.

“I saw you get pretty injured! I’m guessing Jarvan is quite frustrated with you,” Quinn said.

“Why should I follow a Demacian’s orders, when I am not Demacian myself?”

“Good point, except Jarvan is a prince, and to him, Luna, are just an ally fighting for Demacia, therefore you are qualified as a Demacian.”

“Quinn that does not make any sort of sense.”

“Well, I tried.”

Quinn looked up into the sky and whistled. There was a slight change of wind, and Quinn was replaced by the red bird in the sky, flying to the other side of Summoner's Rift.

 _How does she do that?_  I thought.

I could hear Darius axe cutting through minions. I hid in the bushes, slowly inching forward. I could hear a battle cry from Lux and a flash a light. I could guess she had the same sort of power like Ezreal’s.

Which would explain why they got along so well. They were alike with their abilities. Together it would hard to defeat, which made me question why they were not fighting side by side.

But this was not the time for thinking about other things. Darius was slowly moving closer to me, and I felt the moon heating my blade. I trapped Darius, drawing him into me, and stabbed him in the chest.

“You play hard to get, don’t ya?” he asked me as I ripped my blade out of his torso. He brought up his axe but before he could move, I decapitated him. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned to see Garen once again.

“You are stubborn,” he said to me.

“Many people tell me that,” I replied.

Garen watched Darius’s head disappear, “I’m sure he will no longer show himself.”

I rolled my eyes and complained, “Why does he not give up on winning my heart?”

“Because you are very beautiful,” Garen said. His face became instantly red, regretting what he had just done.

“Not everyone thinks this I hope,” I responded.

Garen cleared his throat, “Well it seems that many, warriors, appreciate your appearance.”

“ _Appreciate my appearance?_ ”

“Woman as well also believe too that you have attractive qualities.”

“ _Attractive qualities?_ ”

“Forget I said anything.”

“Will do.”

I could not believe it. People thought I was...beautiful. I never paid attention to physical qualities. The only physical beauty I noticed was the moon’s. Its beautiful glow, the craters, and so on. I never spent too much time on myself.

So that would explain why almost everyone looked upon me in the new armor. When I say almost I mean everyone except Ezreal. He did not seem to care how I dressed, which made me like him more. Sure he noticed that I looked different and he acknowledge it, but he did not have the look in his eyes like Darius’s. Or Garen’s. Garen’s eyes tried to look away, but I could tell he enjoyed Quinn’s artwork tightening around my buttocks.

_She definitely planned this._

I sighed. After a few more hours of fighting off the Noxians, I heard a loud horn play. Then I heard cheering, Garen including.

“What is going on?” I asked.

“The Noxians have surrendered,” Garen exclaimed, “We have won!”

I was confused, “That’s it?”

“This is a short battle because we are following the Field of Justice rules. In a battle with real bloodshed, it could last for days at the least,” Garen answered.

Garen and I started walking back to base camp.

“Luna,” Garen began, “Will you ever tell anyone about your past?” I replied to Garen with a cold glare.

“It’s just,” he said, walking closer to me, “The only person who seems to know the most about you is Ezreal, and that is only because he was the first one to meet you. He still does not know your origin.”

“It is no one’s business. I have no other past,” I said, obviously stating he was annoying me.

“So we are all suppose to believe you came to the world as you are right now?”

“If that suits you, yes.”

Garen gave up, which was the right decision to do. I must admit I applaud him for his determination, but that did not mean he would hear a word from me about the time before I met Ezreal.

We arrived as everyone was packing up their belongings. Lux limped over to Garen and me.

“I sprained my ankle jumping for joy when I heard the horn,” she said, and I grinned. Garen hugged his little sister. I walked past the siblings to my own camp. I was beginning to clean up when I felt someone run from behind. I swirled around and felt myself being lifted up and squeezed in a tight hug.

“We won!” Ezreal cheered, his arms squeezing tighter around my waist.

“I do not enjoy the position I am in Ezreal,” I said, my feet swinging to kick him in the knees.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” he replied. Ezreal lowered me to the ground, his face completely red. I felt myself blush as well.

“You know,” Ezreal said as he lifted his arm to scratch the back of his neck, “you kinda scared me when you ran back into battle, as if you had never been hurt.”

“Ezreal, I was healed. I was not just going to sit back and have others pity me.”

“I can still worry though Luna, can’t I?”

Ezreal pulled me in for a tighter hug. He held me and whispered in my ear, “Damn it Luna, you are so stubborn.”

I laughed out loud, enjoying the slight comic relief. I rested my head upon his shoulder, taking in the affection.

“Luna,” I heard a man growl. I was not surprised to see it was the prince. I pulled away from Ezreal and looked up to the tall man. I spoke with clear words, “I do not care on what you have to say. I have fought in this battle, and now I can live my life as a regular. We agreed on that.”

“I know what we agreed on,” Jarvan snapped, “but your determination has impressed me. You may leave the castle gates, but you are free to train and fight in any future war battles.”

I scoffed. Fighting was the last thing I had ever wanted to do in the first place. I was now able to have the slightest bit of freedom.

We said nothing more as we began the journey back to Demacia.

 

* * *

 

I fell onto my bed, moaning and the comfortable feeling underneath my body.We finally arrived at the castle in the afternoon, and I was exhausted. My hair had slowly whitened as the sky became brighter. My blade was no longer its purple tint, which also meant my forehead and eyes had returned to their natural form.

When we entered Demacia, a large crowd greeted us. Adults and children cheered as we marched through the city-state. A woman through a rose at Garen, and he caught it in one swift movement. He was use to it. I looked behind me to see young ladies forcing their bouquets into Ezreal’s arms.

“Thank you!” he said kindly, and one of the teenage girls fainted into another’s arms. Ezreal caught my glance and he stuck his tongue out. I covered my laugh with a cough.

A yordle approached me, “Thank you for your generous service for Demacia!” he said as he handed me a bundle of wildflowers. I did not know what to reply.

“Um...you are welcome.”

The creature nodded and backed away. Children walked next to me.

“I like your sword!” a little girl said.

“It’s not a _sword_ ,” a boy added.

I smiled, “You can call it whatever you like,” I said to the girl. She blushed and ran away from me, the boy following her.

“Good to see kids admire that _sword_ of yours,” Garen joked.

“Do not dare call my weapon a sword.”

Garen laughed, “What do I call it then?”

“It is similar to many different types of weapons, such as a sickle or a khopesh.”

“I have never heard of those weapons.”

“Exactly, so I just call it a crescent blade. It makes sense to others.”

“That it does.”

Not all of the citizens welcomed my presence. Few children were scared of my appearance and would hide behind their parent’s legs. Some parents themselves would drag their children away from me. One adult would whisper something into their companion’s ear as they pointed to my marking. I did not understand how I was so intimidating. Ezreal had designs on his face, but he also was not wearing revealing armor nor did he have white hair tangled around his body. I shuddered thinking of the image.

But I kept moving on, ignoring the glares and gasps, and watched everyone else being approached by admiring fans. Even Shyvana had wreaths wrapped around her horns and others begging her to burn their hands.

So I was now lying on my bed, aching from soreness. I knew I was not finished yet. I took a fast bath and began to pack my things. I heard a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” I called. Teedee ran and hopped up on my bed.

“Do you have to go?” she asked. She knew after the battle I would leave, yet she still tried to urge me to stay.

“You are safe in the castle gates,” she said to me, as if she was trying to convince herself that as well.

“I can take care of myself Teedee,” I told the yordle.

“B-but,” she stuttered, “you will be an outcast out there!”

“I am already an outcast here. Listen, nothing you can say will change my mind.”

Teedee frowned and sighed. She swung her tiny legs and looked down at her feet.

“Hey,” I said to Teedee, “maybe I will come and visit everyone once in a while.” That was a lie.

That made her smile again. She jumped from the bed and hugged my leg.

“Don’t forget about me,” she said. I knelt down and hugged her (making sure it was soft enough so I did not smash her) and said softly, “I will not.”

Teedee left, and I thought I saw her wipe away one tear. I finished packing, and I walked out of the room with the glass wall.

I had walked outside the castle and faced the gates.

“Hey!”

Quinn ran over to me, “You can’t leave without saying goodbye to me and Valor!”

Valor landed on Quinn’s outstretched arm and made a low sad shriek.

“I will miss you too Valor,” I said, rubbing the eagle’s beak. Valor flew off of Quinn’s arm and curled up on the ground.

“Well I’m going to visit you whether you like it or not,” Quinn said.

“I never said I did not want you to,” I replied. Quinn was not the emotional type. She knew that I was not going to change my mind, and she stuck her hand out to shake. “It was quite nice to have you here, Luna,” she said, and with that, she turned around, Valor walking with his gigantic claws behind her.

I looked at the gates once again, but this time, Ezreal was walking towards them, a pack over his shoulder.

“Ezreal!” I called, running to him, “You are leaving too?” I asked.

“Well sure!” He said, “I have to return to Piltover.”

I had forgotten that Ezreal also had a home to return to, which would mean I would not see him for awhile.

“So I am stuck in Demacia with no one to help me around this city?” I asked, my tone harsh. I was frustrated.

“You were the one who decided to come with, remember?” Ezreal responded, looking away from my glare, “Quinn, Valor, Garen, and Lux can help you.”

“But I wanted you to!” I yelled. Ezreal stepped back from me. I realized I had never acted this way before in front of him. It was the way I acted to Leona and the others who worshipped the sun.

“Luna, you knew this was going to happen. I’ll be back, when Demacia needs me. I’m not only going back to Piltover, I am going to travel around Valoran to explore, it’s my true nature. I’m the Prodigal Explorer.”

I adjusted my bag so it wrapped around my shoulder. I walked to the gates, trying to leave as fast as possible. Ezreal ran backwards in front of me, something he did long ago.

“You’re not even going to say bye to me?” He asked, his face expression confused.

“Goodbye Ezreal, now get out of my way.”

Ezreal looked hurt, but I did not have the desire to care. The only living thing that I should ever have to care about is the moon, and the Solari leaders can not take that away from me.

I walked through the gates, leaving behind Ezreal and the Demacian castle.

 _I cannot look back_ , I reminded myself.

And I succeeded.

 


	7. Welcome Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana settles into her new home, while Ezreal's new adventure could change everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER GALORE!!  
> I have a lot going on right now (I am about to graduate from high school and I go to boarding school so I have tons of packing to do), so it may be awhile before I submit another chapter. It could be from 2-4 weeks till another one arrives. But don't worry!! I have not abandoned you all and I have TONS of new ideas!!

Lux caught up to me as I walked through the streets of Demacia. It was stupid of me to think that I would know precisely where to go. I tried to disappear in the crowd, but my white hair stuck out and attracted much more attention than I expected.

“Come with me!” Lux said, grabbing my arm and taking me to a different direction, “The home you are looking for is next to mine!”

“Great,” I mumbled.

Jarvan had set up a home for me before I left so I would not be homeless. He did not tell me it would be right next to the Crownguards.

We approached a cottage, one that looked nicer than all of the other shacks around Demacia.

“That’s your home!” Lux said, “And your neighbor on the left is Garen and mine!”

The Crownguard had a massive home, enough to call it a mansion. It definitely was much too big for a brother and sister.

“I know, it’s pretty big,” Lux said, noticing my gaze on the mansion. Lux lifted my hand and placed a key.

“Welcome to your new home!” She said, giggling from excitement.

I walked up to the cottage and inserted the key inside the door knob and turned it. I heard the click and opened the cottage door.

It was a lot bigger in the inside than it looked on the outside. One master bedroom, one guest bedroom, two washrooms (one joined with each room), kitchen, and a living room. It also had all the furniture and supplies needed. When I had walked into the bedroom, Lux knew I would be surprised. Once again, I had an entire glass window, but this time there was a door that led outside into a massive back yard. The wooden fence around looked as if was just built and the neighbor on my right seemed to have a barn in their backyard.

“Those are commoners,” Lux said, “They own a few animals.”

There was another door leading outside of the fence. It was secured with a padlock, which on cue Lux handed me another key.

“This is for the gate key, whenever you need to go adventuring.”

_Really Lux? Adventuring?_

We walked back into the cottage and Lux headed towards the door.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” Lux said, “Wait here!”

She ran outside, turning towards her house, I waited for about a minute before she came back with a large pouch.

“Here!” She said happily, “This is for your loyalty to Demacia.”

I opened the pouch to find what seemed like an endless amount of gold coins. It was more than enough.

“Lux I can not take this from you.”

“It’s from Jarvan! He wanted to give you a head start in your new life!”

Jarvan wanted to convince me that he was not such a bad man. I did not think the prince was cruel. He kept Demacia alive, but he just plainly annoys me. I am not going to lie about that.

“You can come visit,” Lux said, “except when Garen and I are either training or gone for battle of course.”

Lux trotted off and shut the front door. I dropped my bag onto the floor in the middle of the living room and stretched.

 _Welcome home_ , I thought.

\----

Ezreal sat on the side of his bed inside his ship quarters silently, pondering on what had happened between him and Luna. He should have reminded her that he would have to leave, but it still confused him what she took it so harshly. He buried his head into his hands and sighed. Insomnia infected Ezreal and he walked up to the deck. The wind blew colder air, which meant he and the captain would be approaching the Freljord soon.

Ezreal heard the cryptophoenix screech. Anivia landed on the bow of the ship.

 _Do not be upset Explorer_ , she said, the words and noise in Ezreal’s mind.

“Luna practically hates me now Anivia,” Ezreal said aloud, “I screwed up, and now I just lost someone that I cared about.”

_So you admit you care about her?_

“Of course I do! I was the first one to talk to her. Well, in her new life I was the first one.”

 _Ezreal_ , Anivia said, her voice sounding more gentle, _I have watched you grow into the man you are today. I have known you since you were a child. I have also have recently watched the so called Luna grow as well, and she is not angry, but frightened. She is not use to the new world she is in._

“So-called Luna? What do you mean? And I don’t even know what her past is! I can’t help her if all I know about her is the woman that ran past me on a roof.”

_Rest in Piltover for a few days. If you want to know her true past, go to the mountains_

And with that, Anivia flew up and disappeared into the night.

“But where in the mountains?” Ezreal questioned to the empty sky.

Ezreal was back in Piltover in a few days after that night. Once again he thanked the Summoners that his house was still in one piece when he arrived. He knocked a tune that only the criminal recognized. He heard the door unlock and he walked in, passing Jinx.

“Well hello to you too, Ezzy.”

“Not now Jinx,” Ezreal said. Walking over the mess the Loose Cannon had made.

She followed behind him, “Well this isn't you. You usually make some sarcastic comment on how clean the place is, when it's actually not. You skipped that step.”

Ezreal threw his bag on his bed, “I’m just not in the best mood this time Jinx,” he said as he unpacked.

“Oo, tell me tell me tell me,” Jinx pried. Her eyes widened, “Ezreal does not dread over anything, unless it’s something really personal. Like...a…”

Jinx’s lips were now next to Ezreal’s ear, “girl.”

“ _Leave me alone Jinx!_ ” Ezreal snapped, “You can leave now.”

Jinx flipped one of her braids behind her, “Not until I get the details. You know me Ezzy, I’m not going anywhere until I hear the good stuff.”

Ezreal sighed and opened his mouth to speak until Jinx interrupted.

“Oh hey!” She perked, “I know what’ll cheer you up. Apparently I am not the only culprit on the loose! A few days after you left, the newspaper came in and it turns out, someone is stealing my spotlight!”

Jinx ran to the other room and brought back the newspaper. The article was in a small box on the bottom of the page.

“It is so easy to miss because it is so tiny, but I found it!” Jinx cheered.

She took a deep breath and said in a booming voice, “Missing criminal! A woman by the name of Diana who has escaped from Mount Targon for having the crime of heresy! Physical descriptions cannot be given, for Diana fled just before her true form was exposed! One thing to keep an eye out for is that the best time to find her is on a full moon. The bounty is 15,000 gold if she is brought back, alive.”

Jinx fanned herself with the paper, “I know I have the best announcer voice, thank you.”

But Ezreal was not listening, “Mount Targon,” he whispered. He turned to Jinx.

“I have to leave again in two days, I need to prepare for another travel, this time by foot.”

Jinx lifted one eyebrow, “You are going to search for this Diana?”

“No. I’m going to Mount Targon.”

“Why?”

“I need to know for sure who this _Diana_ actually is.”

* * *

 

Anivia guided Ezreal across the Ironspike Mountains. The only trail between was located in Zaun, and Ezreal was not going to go that path.

 _If Luna could do this, I can do it_ , he thought

While it could’ve taken Luna weeks to travel across, it only took Ezreal a few days. He had all of the supplies and had the proper equipment that helped him move much faster. He opened his map of Valoran.

“I don’t understand Anivia,” he said, “It doesn’t say Mount Targon on here.” But the bird had left Ezreal now that he was on safer ground. Ezreal turned the map side to side and looked closer. He saw another mountain shape.

 _Mount Gargantuan._ Ezreal recognized the name from a history book he had read. It had snowy slopes and cold winds. Food was hard to find. It seemed like a strange place to live and survive.

“Gargantuan, Targon, Gargantuan, Targon,” Ezreal repeated to himself. The two words almost sounded the same, as if Targon was a shorter abbreviated version.

“I guess I’ll go there,” Ezreal said to himself.

For days he traveled on his feet. He passed between the Howling Marsh and the Institute of War. He stopped at Mogron Pass and began to climb the dangerous mountain.

 _I guess it’s better than being stuck with Miss Fortune on Blue Flame Island_.

Ezreal tied himself with rope on top of a ledge to make sure he couldn’t fall while sleeping.

It wasn’t easy the entire way. Ice and snow stuck on the mountain and Ezreal began to slip more and more, but he did not give up. He kept going for three more days until he reached the top. He checked his back-pack and saw he had plenty of food left until he reached a village. The sun was so bright that Ezreal had to cover his eyes and blink a few times before he could walk normally again. He kept walking through the wind and wrapped his scarf around his head so his eyes were only exposed.

He saw warriors circle around him. He stood his ground and held his arm out, ready to fight.

“We are the Rakkor tribe!” the leader said, stepping forward, “I am Pantheon, the Artisan of War! What business do you have here?”

“I want to know more information on the heretic, Diana,” Ezreal said.

Pantheon motioned his hand and two tribe members grabbed Ezreal by his arms. They covered his eyes with a black bandana and walked with him.

Finally after some time, the bandana was pulled off of Ezreal’s eyes and he yelped at the bright sun that blinded him. His eyes cleared and he saw he was in a cave. He also saw a woman with red hair and golden armor, including a gold sword and shield. She sat on a throne, looked down at Ezreal.

“Hello Prodigal Explorer, my name is Leona,” she said.

“The Radiant Dawn, Leona?” Ezreal asked. She nodded.

“You say that you want information on Diana? May I ask why?”

Ezreal picked his words carefully, “I uh, got back from Demacia and I saw the article from the old newspaper and it made me, uh, curious.”

Leona motioned to the warriors to release Ezreal, and they did so.

“You lie to me, but I will let that pass. I can tell you are curious.”

Leona stood from her throne and continued, “Diana use to be one of our people, yet she was much different. She would stay up looking to the night sky, and questioned the dominance of the sun in our society.”

Ezreal became nervous. _Please don’t let it be who I think it is._

Leona continued, “To sum everything, she donned armaments that she found in a temple that represented the moon. She was pronounced a heretic and was condemned to death, but before she was executed, she escaped by calling power from the moon. She slaughtered the Solari elders, and that is why we want her found. So she can be punished for her crimes.”

Leona looked up to the sun, “The last words I heard from her were, “The sun does not reveal truth. Its light only burns and blinds.””

Ezreal gulped.  “Do you have a label for her?” He asked.

“Yes,” she replied, “Diana, Scorn of the Moon. She now presents her foes with a terrible ultimatum: revere the moon's light, or die by her crescent blade.”

_Crescent blade._

Ezreal backed away.

“What is wrong?” Leona asked.

“N-nothing. I have to go. How do I get down from her?”

Leona walked closer to Ezreal, “Do you know something about Diana?”

Ezreal backed into Rakkor warriors. He could not escape without answering.

“I just am kind of creeped out by the information.”

“You lie again,” Leona said.

 _I really need to practice on my lying_.

“Do you have any other information on how she looks or where she is now?” Ezreal asked.

“Her armor is filled with many different types of dark colors, just as her blade. We presume she has ran to Zaun for sanctuary, but it is not certain.”

 _No_ , Ezreal thought. He felt as if he might vomit. _I wish I never came here._

“I will search for her,” Ezreal said, which was the truth. He never said that he would return her.

“If she is not brought back alive, you will receive no reward. Understood?” Leona said. Ezreal nodded in reply and Leona nodded her head towards Pantheon.

“Help him down the mountain,” she ordered. The bandana covered Ezreal’s eyes once more, and he was pushed to walk. They walked out of the cave and the cold wind hit Ezreal once more. He felt blocks of ice underneath him and a slight down slope. They went on for hours like this. It was much easier than what Ezreal expected, yet he was exhausted by the time he stopped. He heard what seemed like a bolder move and he walked again. The bandana was pulled off, except the sun was not as blinding this time. Ezreal was back at Mogron Pass, and it had only took half a day.

“Do not look back until you hear complete silence, or I shall kill you.” Pantheon said, shoving Ezreal forward. The explorer stood still. He heard the noise again of something being moved, and then nothing. Ezreal turned around to find nothing besides the mountain itself.

 _Time to confirm the truth_ , Ezreal thought, and he began to run. Not the direction to Piltover, but to Demacia.

\----

I knocked on the Crownguard’s door. Lux wanted to take me... _shopping_. Apparently my dark clothing was too depressing and I needed to “expand my attire options”.

The door opened to reveal Garen, not in his armor. He was still very muscular without the armor, but at least he did not look like a giant.

“Oh, uh, hello Garen,” I said, “Lux wanted me to visit.”

“Uh, come in,” Garen replied, holding the door wider for me to pass. I entered into the mansion. Chandeliers hung from each room, even the kitchen and bathrooms. I followed Garen to Lux’s room.

“Do you like your new home?” Garen asked.

“Yes, it is...nice,” I said, trying to not make it sound as if I was extremely uncomfortable.

“That’s good.”

Garen knocked on a pink door.

_Oh please no._

Lux opened the door and smiled, “ _LUNA!_ It’s so good to see you are finally out of your house! It’s been weeks since I’ve seen you. Good to know you’re not sulking anymore!”

“Thanks, Lux,” I murmured. Lux grabbed my hand and pulled me inside. She slammed the door in Garen’s face.

I was hoping the room would match Lux’s armor. Blue, silver, and white. But no, it was pink. Various colors of pink filled the room, except for her white pillows (and the white chandelier).

“Lux you are few years younger than me I am not a woman who likes to shop and do childish things.”

“Shopping is not childish,” Lux said, “It is a talent that all young woman should possess.”

“Do we really have to do this?”

“It’s for the best! Now let’s go!”

Before we left Lux knocked on Garen’s door, “We are leaving Garen! Be back in a few hours!”

Garen responded with a grunt. Lux rolled her eyes and we exited the home to the streets of Demacia.

Lux kept walking and waved at the people who glared at me and the blade attached to my hip.

“Good to see you people are so accepting of my friend!” She said to a passerby who had spit in my direction. We entered a bazaar with merchants holding different items. I walked closer to the weapons until Lux appeared in front of me.

“Now now Luna, we are headed the other way!” She said, grabbing my shoulders and directing me away from the weapons. I came face to face with a woman holding a dress.

“Sale! 5 gold! A silk dress for 5 gold!” She shouted in my face.

“ _No_ ,” I growled. The woman ran away screaming.

“Now now Luna, don’t be rude,” Lux said behind me as she messed with my hair.

“I am here against my will, Lux, I will act in any sort of manner. I am a person who likes to get in, get it, and get out. Stop touching my hair.”

“I’m almost done!”

“What are you do--”

“And the braid is finished!”

Lux pushed me to a full-length mirror on a merchant cart. The braid ran down my back. I had to admit, I didn’t mind the hairstyle.

Lux forced me to try on different outfits. I walked in a closed space concealed with a curtain where I could change, and then present myself in front of Lux.

“I hate it,” I said everytime.

“Well this dress is a nice _lavender_ ,” Lux replied, she was swinging my blade around in circles, “You like purple right?”

“I look like a wench.”

“There is nothing wrong with looking a tad sensual.”

“You mean looking like I work at a brothel.”

Lux sighed and handed me another dress. It was a short dark red dress with long sleeves and glittery.

“Lux when would I ever wear this?”

Lux laughed and pushed me through the curtain, “In case someone takes you out on a date.”

“ _WHAT IN THE SUMMONER DID YOU JUST SAY LUXANNA?!_ ”

“Shh! What I’m saying is that some men _appreciate your appearance_ and that you have _attractive qualities_.”

I opened the curtain, “Did someone put you up to this?”

Lux’s jaw dropped, “You look absolutely stunning!”

I looked in the mirror. The dress stopped at my knees and fitted tightly around my body, outlining some areas that I did not want to be outlined.

“That’s the best one I’ve seen you wear all day!” Lux said, clasping her hands together and bringing them up to her cheek.

“The glitter does not help Lux,” I said, crossing my arms.

“Indeed,” A woman said passing us. Lux frowned.

“Hello Fiora,” she muttered.

“Why hello,” the duelist said, walking backwards to meet us, “I was shopping for some armor polish and I see you, Luna. I have never seen you in red before, and may I say you have very nice legs.”

“I did not say yes to this,” I grumbled.

“Lux tends to annoy others, yes.”

“Shut up Fiora,” Lux snapped.

“It seems it is my time to leave,” Fiora said, and with that, she walked off, humming.

“You and Fiora do not get along?” I asked.

“We are two different families with different views. We have always been rivals.”

“I see.”

I knew a way to cheer Lux up, and it made me cringe.

“I will buy this dress,” I said, shuddering.

Lux’s eyes lit, “You will?!”

“Unfortunately….”

“Yay!”

I looked at the price. 100 gold.

“I’ll take care of it!” Lux said.

“Lux I can buy it with my own money--”

“Nope! Consider it a gift!”

I could not help but smile. Seeing Lux giggling and excited was an entertainment.

We looked around at more shops. I reluctantly tried on the pieces of clothing and shoes that Lux handed me. So in the end I had a dress, nice shoes, and a black necklace that a full moon hung on. Lux’s arms were full with her own bags, filled with her own new items.

It was late at night when Lux and I arrived at our homes. Lux turned towards me and kicked the ground.

“Why are you nervous Lux?” I asked her.

“Umm, so I’m just going to tell you before it happens…”

“Until what happens?”

“Garen is going to ask you out on a date,” Lux blurted out. Her entire face became red, “And I was not suppose to tell you that.”

I was in shock. “Is this why you took me to the bazaar?” I asked.

“Well that, and I wanted to bond with you more,” Lux said.

I rolled my eyes, “I am guessing I have to say yes.”

“Uhh yeah, he would probably like that.”

“Alright then. Goodnight, Lux.”

“Goodnight Luna!”

She skipping to her front door and kicked it to knock, seeming her hands were all full of clothes. The door opened and she ran inside. I bent down to my boot and pulled at my keep that was inside of it. Usually I use the pocket in my boot for a dagger, but I changed it into a key holder. I began to approach the door, but as I walked closer, I saw the door had been broken into. I slowly cracked the door open and sat my bags down carefully, my right hand already reaching for my crescent blade. What the intruder did not know is that I can see better in the dark.

I slowly and quietly checked around the house, but I heard a crash coming from my bedroom. I slid across the hallway wall. I felt myself build up with energy. As soon as I reached towards the door, I rushed through and pounced upon my attacker to the floor so I was on top of them. I held the tip of my blade to their throat.

“Who are you and why are you here,” I hissed.

“I think that is the third time you have held that blade at my throat,” said the voice I missed.

“Ezreal!” I squealed, and I dropped my blade to the side. I helped him stand up.

“Is there another battle?” I asked, but Ezreal stepped back from me.

“I actually came here to talk to you, Luna,” Ezreal said, his tone serious.

“You have never lied to me, right?” he asked.

I had to lie about not lying, “Ever since I have known you it has always been the truth.”

“Well that is what I thought,” Ezreal said. I could see him clearly now, and he looked as if he was to kill me at any moment.

“You do not know anything about me, Ezreal,” I said, kneeling to grab my blade.

“That’s right. I don’t know anything about you…” He flashed and pressed me up against a wall, his hand clasped around my throat.

“ _Diana._ ”

 


	8. Swear to the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Diana reveals the complete truth about herself to Ezreal, the next morning she meets her other neighbors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGHHH sorry for the delay.  
> So you may find so weird run-on sentences. It's just the way I write.  
> Anyway, it's summer and I plan on updating my stories. By the way, if any of you readers are interested in Dragon Age 2, you should also read my other story, Quiver. It's a Hawke/Fenris relationship. Check it out (advertising at it's best!)

A coldness spread throughout my body. I could barely breathe from Ezreal’s tight grip on my throat.

“Ezreal...please listen to me--” I tried saying.

“ _NO!_ ” Ezreal shouted, “You have been lying to me ever since I have known you.”

“I only lied about my name!” I said. I brought my legs up and kicked him in the chest, backing him away from me and dropping me to the ground. I coughed and took in the fresh air.

“I did not want my true identity to be revealed,” I said, looking up at the frustrated mage. It was a side of Ezreal I had never seen before.

“You killed innocent people!” Ezreal cried.

 _That_ made me furious. I stood up and my symbol grew brighter and brighter.

“ _What was I to do, Ezreal?!_ ” I yelled, “ _Have myself be burned alive?!_ ”

“You could have just escaped!”

“ _It is not that simple!_ ”

“Do you know that there is a bounty on your head?”

I felt my marking fade at Ezreal’s words. I was a wanted criminal, and Leona would do anything to capture me.

“Please do not return me to Mount Targon,” I begged Ezreal.

“Is there anything else you have lied about?” Ezreal asked, his amulet glowing, ready to let out a mystic shot at any moment.

“What did Leona tell you?” I asked back.

“It does not matter what she told me, I want to hear your side of the story.”

I sighed. There was no way I could avoid the situation now. I began the famous lore of Diana, Scorn of the Moon.

 

“An unyielding avatar of the moon's power, I waged a dark crusade against the sun-worshiping [Solari](http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Targon#The_Solari_Tribe). Though I once sought the acceptance of my people, years of futile struggle shaped me into a bitter, resentful warrior.

“Though I was born to the Solari, My inquisitive nature set me apart from my brethren. I had always found solace and guidance in the night sky, and questioned the dominance of the sun in my society. The Solari elders responded to my challenges with only derision and punishment. I remained convinced, however, that if I could find evidence of the moon's power, the elders would listen to reason.”

“For years, I studied Solari archives in solitude until I discovered an encoded message hidden in an old tome. This clue led me to a secluded valley on [Mount Targon](http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Mount_Targon) where I unearthed the hidden entrance to an ancient, sealed temple. Inside, among aging relics and faded murals, I found an ornate suit of armor and a beautiful crescent blade, both inscribed with sigils of the moon. I donned the armaments and returned to the Solari elders that night. I declared that the artifacts proved others had once worshiped the moon as I do now. My discovery of evidence challenging Solari dominion shocked the elders. To my own horror, they pronounced me a heretic and condemned me to death.”

“As the elders prepared my for execution, My anger and sorrow overwhelmed my desire for acceptance. I lifted my gaze to the sky, calling upon the moon for strength. Lunar power surged within me and I shattered my bindings. Raising my relic blade, I turned and slaughtered the elders. With the temple in ruins behind, I resolved to destroy all those who would deny the power of the moon.”

“But Ezreal, ever since I met you, I no longer have the anger that controlled me so long ago.”

I finished my story, waiting to hear to what Ezreal had to say.

“What about this whole ‘She now presents her foes with a terrible ultimatum: revere the moon's light, or die by her crescent blade’?” He asked

“Like I said, that was a long time ago,” I answered.

“So why didn’t you kill me?”

“I wanted to start a new life. If I killed you, it would lead a trail right towards me.” I walked closer to Ezreal, “You also showed me kindness, even when I was rude to you. I had never experienced that.”

I heard a knock on the door.

“Luna?” Garen’s muffled voice said, “I thought I heard shouting coming from here. Is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine!” I called out, “It must be coming from somewhere else!”

“Well then, goodnight!” Garen responded. I did not say anything else. I could hear fading footsteps and a soft noise of a closing door.

Ezreal scoffed, “So what am I to call you then? It’s kind of hard to choose between a mysterious afraid woman I cared about deeply and then a murderous monster.”

I gasped. _Monster_. Ezreal’s expression looked as if he regretted what he had said.

“I-I’m sorry, Lu--Di--I didn’t mean--”

I could feel watery eyes. _Do not cry_ , I told myself.

“Get out,” I said, “and never come back. I’ll be gone in the morning, escaping once again. I know now I can never run from my past.”

Ezreal slowly passed me. As I saw him walk closer to the door, I felt one tear run down my cheek.

But Ezreal did something that I never did. He turned his head back to see that one tear drip from my chin onto the floor.

Ezreal ran back towards me and brought me into his chest, his arms wrapped around me.

“I’m sorry I lied,” I cried, more tears streaming down my face. Ezreal’s chin rested on the top of my head. He held me as I let out my bottled emotions onto his new blue scarf.

“You didn’t say ‘I am’,” Ezreal whispered.

“What?” I said, lifting my head away to look into Ezreal’s blue eyes.

“Usually you use correct formal grammar, but not now. You said I’m.”

“What does this have to do with anything Ezreal?”

“It’s just something I’ve never heard before. I like it.”

I began to laugh through my sobs. Ezreal grabbed the edge of his scarf and grabbed my chin to wipe away the salty tears.

“How did you find out?” I asked him as he wiped slowly across my cheek.

“A little icy birdy told me,” Fenris said with a grin

“Of course it would be Anivia! She warned me about this.”

Ezreal finished wiping my face and backed away.

“You are a pretty crier,” he said. There was a long pause.

“What now?” I asked.

Ezreal sighed.

“I guess I won’t say anything for now.”

Relief replaced the cold stiffness in my body.

“But! You will have to tell Prince Jarvan IV sometime, because if he finds out, then extremely bad things could happen to both of us.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean is that I told Leona that I would look for you, but I never told her I would bring you back.”

I brought myself back into Ezreal’s arms once again, “I will be hated.”

“I don’t hate you,” Ezreal said softly, “Promise not to lie to me anymore?”

“I promise,” I said, the words tasting sour.

“Swear to the moon,” Ezreal said.

That was a hard decision. I looked out my glass window to the waning crescent moon. I knew what it wanted me to do.

“I swear to the moon,” I said.

“What do I call you?” Ezreal asked. It was a reasonable question. Now that Ezreal was the only one who knew my true identity outside of Mount Targon (not including Anivia), he had every right to be confused on what my name should be.

“Please call me Luna until I am ready to tell the prince,” I told Ezreal. He nodded and started to the door.

“Are you not mad at me?” I asked.

“Of course I’m upset, but I know that you lied for your own safety. You also showed me a different side. A side that wasn’t Diana, but Luna. Goodnight Luna, I’ll see you another time.”

I felt a smile form on my face, “Goodnight Ezreal.”

Though when he shut the door, I could not contain the guilt that had consumed my cold heart.

* * *

 

I could not rise from my bed the next morning. My eyes felt swollen from tears and my body felt weakened. I forced myself up and opened the door to my backyard. I wrapped the string of my black robe together and made my way outside. I stuck the key into the padlock that led into my neighbor’s yard. I walked towards the barn and opened the door quietly.

Few animals were inside. A cow chewed on some grass and chickens lied on their eggs. I made my way to the back when I saw a beautiful creature.

It was a black horse, but not just any black horse. Its mane was a mix of silver and white.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” A voice appeared behind me. I turned around swiftly and reached for my hip, but my blade was not attached to me.

“Easy now!” the farmer said to me, holding his arms up to his chest, “I’m not here to hurt ya.”

“I am sorry I intruded,” I said, kicking the dirt. It was too awkward for me to just walk by the man and act like nothing had happened.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said, “We all get curious sometimes.”

The farmer looked like I would expect. A straw hat, a button up plaid shirt, worn out jeans, and boots made for stepping in manure and riding horses.

He walked towards me and began to stroke the space in between the horses eyes.

“Horses really like to be scratched here,” he said to me. It seemed he had some type of accent, but I could not seem to pick out what.

“Why don’t you give it a go?”

“Me?” I said back to the man.

“Sure! Calypso here won’t mind, will ya dear?”

The horse bobbed its head in approval. I lifted my hand and scratched the horse. Calypso brought herself closer to me and her soft nose rubbed on my cheek.

“She likes ya,” the farmer said, “I’m Bob by the way.”

Bob. A simple name amongst all the others I had heard. Bob and I shook hands and he grabbed two thick brushes.

“Would you like to help me brush her?” he asked. Before I could answer he handed me one. 

“Just start at the top and make your way down to her belly,” he ordered.

He walked back to the other side and we began to brush Calypso.

“You’re not from round’ these parts,” he said, trying to make conversation.

“I am slightly new, yes.”

“I saw you coming back from the recent battle with Noxus. My yordle assistant gave you some flowers.”

“You have a yordle slave?”

“ _Slave?_ No way. Rody is paid like any other person in Demacia. He is treated the same in my household.”

That made me smile. I liked Bob. He seemed genuine and kind. He was the first non-warrior in Kirkwall that did not judge me.

“Why don’t you come on in the house for some breakfast?” he asked, “My wife Zelda makes the best bacon and eggs in Valoran!”

“I thank you for the kind gesture, but I am afraid I have bothered you enough already,” I said. I returned the brush to Bob.

“Are ya sure?” Bob smiled at me. he had white teeth except for the gold tooth on his left canine. I thought about his offer. It’s not like I had any food in the house, besides corn and bread.

“Well, as long as your wife does not mind,” I said.

“She won’t!” he said cheerily, “We don’t get visitors often. She loves it when we do.”

I followed Bob into his home, saying bye to Calypso and shutting the barn door. We entered through the backdoor and the house smelled like fresh apples.

“Lovebug!” Bob called out, “I brought our neighbor to have breakfast with us!”

“A visitor?” I heard a high pitched voice, “I never knew we had a neighbor! That house is so quiet!”

A woman appeared with long light brown hair running down her back. She held a basket full of clothes and she wore a white dress with a red apron.

“I’m Zelda!” she said, resting the basket on her hip and sticking her right hand out to shake with mine.

“Luna,” I told Zelda. _Great, just keeping lying._

“Well, Luna, come on in my bedroom and I’ll let ya borrow some clothes!” Zelda said.

“No thank--”

“I insist sweetheart,” Zelda said cheerfully, “and then you sit right down on the dining table and I’ll bring you some breakfast.”

I followed Zelda into her bedroom and she pulled out some denim jeans and a black cotton shirt.

“I think these should fit you just right! These were before I had the kids!”

_Kids._

Zelda slipped out of the room and I dressed into the clothes. I made my way back to the table. It was a simple one, with six seats. Two on each horizontal side, and one on each of the vertical sides. I sat down on one of the horizontal seats and waited. Plates and silverware were already ready to be used. Bob came in looking fresh shaven and clean. He sat down at the head of the table and brought out a newspaper to read.

“Says here that Noxus declared war again,” he said, “I wish they could just leave us alone.” I did not speak.

Two children ran into the kitchen. The boy looked about five years old, and the girl had to be around twelve.

“Hey kids!” Bob said, setting down his newspaper, “Did you all clean yourselves up for breakfast?”

The boy crawled up on his father’s lap and sat comfortably, “Sure did Papa!”

Both of the children turned their heads to me.

“This is our new neighbor kids,” Bob said, “I invited her over to have breakfast! Say hi to Luna.”

“Hi Luna!” The boy said excitedly. The girl looked down at her feet in shyness.

Zelda entered the room with a plate stacked with bacon and a bowl filled with eggs.

Zelda set down the food. She stuck a large knife next to the bacon and a spoon in the bowl of eggs. Zelda grabbed the bowl of eggs and passed it to me, “Help yourself!”

I took a couple of spoonfuls and turned to pass the bowl next to me, noticing that the yordle assistant had filled in the seat.

“Hi!” he said, taking the eggs from my hands, “I’m Rody! It is a pleasure to meet you Luna!” I smiled. Rody spooned some eggs onto his plate and passed the bowl to Bob. The children sat across to me. The boy stared at me curiously.

“Your hair is white,” he said.

“Robert Link Hyrule Junior, that is not a nice thing to say to our guest,” Zelda said.

“It is alright,” I said to the boy, “It has been this color for a while.”

“I like it! By the way, I like to be called RJ. Mama only uses my full name when I’m rude.”

I smiled at the boy, and turned my direction to the girl.

“What is your name?” I asked her.

She hesitated before she spoke, “Um, my n-name is Midna.”

“That’s a pretty name,” I told her. Her face turned red and she looked down at her hands on the table. Zelda helped serve food on her children’s plates after Bob helped himself with eggs and once we all passed the bacon.

“So have you lived in Demacia all your life?” Zelda asked as she began to serve herself, “I haven’t seen the house come to life since we got moved into this home!”

“I just moved in a few weeks ago.”

“Ahh I see! Do you like it?”

“It's a big change, but I have gotten use to it.”

Zelda replied with a big smile. Bob was correct, the eggs and bacon were delicious. RJ and Midna studied me more, mostly looking at the markings on my face.

“Alright kids,” Bob said, “Time to head off to school!”

Both of the children groaned. Bob let out a loud laugh.

“Do we have to go?” RJ asked.

Zelda rolled her eyes, “Yes. Now grab your school supplies and I’ll be ready to walk with you. Clean up after yourselves.”

RJ and Midna grabbed their plates and headed off into the kitchen. Bob stretched his arms above his head.

“Have you ever ridden a horse before, Luna?” he asked me.

“Um, no.” I replied.

“If you are ever ready to, I can teach ya how to saddle and ride Calypso. She won’t buck or take off, so no need to be scared.”

It was not that I was afraid of horses, it is just I did not want to ride on one.

Zelda took Bob and I’s plates. “Well I’ll be heading off in a little bit now. It was nice to meet ya!” she said to me.

“It was nice to meet you as well,” I said back. Bob stood up and motioned Rody towards him, “Well, it seems I have a long day ahead of me. I have to harvest the wheat today so there can be enough bread for the Demacian army.”

I nodded and stood up with him, walking back to the barn.

“It was nice having you over for breakfast!” Bob said.

“I thank you for your kind courtesy,” I said.

“Come on over any time you want!”

I nodded and began to walk back to the gate that led to my new home. I locked the padlock as I shut the door and pushed the door to my room. I changed back into my armor, feeling more comfortable in my original attire.

I walked out my front door, entering the city once again. I looked to my left side where I saw the Hyrule’s home. The front was not as nice as the other homes. The screen on the door was cut through and the paint on the front walls was peeling off.

I looked back over to my right to see the Crownguard’s mansion. I breathed out air.

_Well, might as well get this whole Garen thing over with._

And with that, I walked to the nice mahogany door, and knocked.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like my Legend of Zelda hints? I just added them in their for fun.


	9. Before...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana has an awkward chat with Garen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A CHAPTER WITHOUT EZREAL'S POINT OF VIEW. I wanted to focus more on my darling protagonist.  
> Also, this chapter is a tad confusing, if you need help understand, I will be more than happy to explain.  
> This chapter may be a tad boring, but I swear to you, it's leading up to more drama. Doesn't everyone like more drama?  
> That is what fan fic is all about honestly if you think about it. Either drama or smut. Or both.  
> Anyway, thanks for being patient guys and hopefully my procrastination won't be in the way.  
> I have to edit SO MANY times after I post because I'm like, "Ohh that's when I wrote that at 3 a.m."  
> ALRIGHT, ENOUGH NOTING, ENJOY!

I waited, hoping nobody would answer the door. Perhaps Garen and Lux were training in the Champion Arena. Noxus did declare another war.

But just soon as I was about to leave, Lux opened the door and spoke with her highly exaggerated voice, “ _LUNA!_ ”

I forced back my urge to cringe and smiled, “Hey Lux, I was just in the mood, to... _visit_.”

“Yes! Come inside!” Lux replied, obviously knowing what I was here for.

“Garen!” she called, “Luna came to visit us!”

“Visit?” Garen asked from a distance. I heard a door open and footsteps growing louder. Garen appeared with his armor on, making Lux look like a yordle.

“Let’s go to the living room!”

Lux led me to the large room with the biggest chandelier and a massive fireplace that looked as if it looked new. A human female maid was dusting a bookcase.

“You are dismissed today Hermia,” Lux said kindly. The maid nodded as a reply and walked out of the room. I walked to the bookcase and studied the literature. It was all in alphabetical order. Some books looked brand new and unread, and others had the covers barely attached to the binding.

“You can borrow whatever you like,” Garen said. I pulled out one of the old books and turned it to look at the cover.

_The Various Cultures of Valoran._

“That is one of my favorites,” Garen said, now standing beside me.

I turned to face him, looking at him straight in the eyes. I did not hear any sort of shuffling or steps around us.

_Damn it Lux, you had to leave to leave the room._

“So...Luna,” Garen started.

“Spit it out Garen,” I said, trying to get this awkwardness over with.

“I was wondering if you would accompany to the Annual Champion Ball.”

“Champion Ball?”

“It is a large feast that other Champions from different city-states come to celebrate the hundreds of years that Valoran has existed.”

I lifted one eyebrow, “ _All_ the Champions celebrate?”

Garen sighed, “Well, of course not everyone is able to participate. Champions who cause destruction or harm to others during the Champion Ball will automatically be jailed for their actions.”

“Who is all invited?”

“There must be at _least_ two Champions from each city state, but it does not mean all the Champions from that their specific city-state will be able to participate.”

“Such as?”

“Syndra, the Dark Sovereign, who is from Ionia, is not allowed to attend. She would do anything to destroy Karma, the Enlightened One.”

It was all very confusing. Garen was waiting for my response, which I was trying to avoid.

“Yes,” I said, “I will accompany you to this...ball.”

Garen looked surprised, “I would have thought Ezreal might have asked you, but it seems he asked Jinx, the Loose Cannon, a while back.”

_What._

“Jinx has promised not to cause any trouble, and enforcer Vi and sheriff Caitlyn have promised not to arrest her until afterwards, that is if they catch her.”

_What._

“Let me find you a list of the invited.”

_What._

I was still in shock. Ezreal was taking _Jinx_? I knew her reputation, mostly from Quinn’s explanation of how Jinx was actually born in Piltover and not Zaun.

Which reminded me.

“Garen?” I called out. He had left to find the list of the invited city-states, “Who is Quinn going with to the ball? Please do not tell me Valor is her escort.”

“Actually,” Garen said, walking back into the living room with the list, “She will be at the side of an Ionian carrier, Varus, the Arrow of Retribution.”

“Could you please stop labeling every single champion?” I asked. Garen cleared his throat, “Um, yes.”

He continued, “Valor will be escorting Anivia.”

I felt myself smile. The two birds would fly together at last.

“When is the ball?” I said as I took the list from Garen’s hands.

“It actually is in two days,” he replied.

“What.”

“I apologize for not asking you earlier”

“It is fine, excuse me, I must talk to to Lux. Do you know where she is?”

Garen shrugged his shoulders, “She is most likely in her bedroom.”

I turned around and walked quickly to Lux’s room. I entered without knocking to find she was just admiring herself in her vanity mirror.

“How did it go?” she asked me.

“It went fine, but I can not wear the red dress to the Champion Ball,” I said.

Lux cocked her head, “And why is that?”

“Because,” I said, my voice almost to a whisper, “I thought he would ask me to some dinner, not a feast in front of all the Champion in Valoran.”

“ _Almost_ all of them,” Lux corrected.

“It does not matter!” I said much louder.

“Well can you think of anything else? Honestly Luna, you do not have the best fashion sense.”

An idea popped up in my head.

“Lux, I need you to fetch someone for me.”

  


Quinn walked around my house. Valor sat on the dining table, seeking out any sort of animal that might pass through my floors.

“Well I mean it’s not as bad as I thought,” Quinn said.

“Can you just help me already?” I asked, tapping my foot.

Quinn tisked, “Luna, outfit choices don’t just pop up in my head.”

I rolled my eyes. Quinn walked into my bedroom and opened up my wardrobe.

“All you have is just black and dark purple,” she mumbled.

“I am not really a sun person, Quinn.”

“The sun is yellow. How about, I don’t know, white? Ya know, like the moon?”

I thought about it. It was not that bad of an idea.

“I’m just letting you know though,” Quinn said, “You are going to have to show a little bit of skin.”

“Fine,” I groaned, “As long as I have something.”

Quinn turned me around and started brushing my hair with her fingers.

“Could you do that ‘ask the moon’ thing again?” she questioned.

“Why?”

“I want your hair to be a very dark purple that it almost looks black. For this outfit we are going for purple, white, and gold, but I want your irises to be blue. Your blade should be gold with a purple handle.”

“I will try when the day comes.”

“Alright,” Quinn said, turning me around to face her, “I want to cover up your eye markings and instead apply purple eyeshadow and light purple lipstick.”

“I better not look ridiculous,” I growled.

“You won’t!” Quinn said, a big smile forming on her face, obviously having the full outfit in mind.

“What are you going to name this outfit?” I asked the eagle eyed woman.

“Hmm, I’m thinking about _Lunar Goddess Luna_.”

 _Lunar Goddess Diana, once again, would sound better_ , I thought.

“Since you pretty much symbolize the moon, why not make you the goddess of it?” Quinn said.

“Thank you Quinn for helping me,” I said kindly, giving her a smile.

“No problem!” she said joyfully, “You would look just like everyone else if you wore that red dress.”

“What are you going to wear?” I asked.

“I’m actually thinking about going into this dark gray look, adding a little bit of brown and silver. I wanted Valor to be a dark silver as well, that way we will both match with Varus..”

I opened my eyes wide, “Garen told me about that. I do not mean to sound rude bu--”

“Why him?” Quinn interrupted, “Because he is a good friend of mine, and I know some things about him that nobody else really cares to know. The prince actually asked me first, but I turned him down. Bleh.”

“ _Jarvan asked you?_!”

“I know right? Shyvana will be his date now. They’ve been best friends for years. Which reminds me….” Quinn moved closer to me, “Who are _you_ going with? Please say Ezreal.”

I frowned, “He asked Jinx before he even knew me.”

“Ouch,” Quinn said, breathing in a painful amount of air, “That’s awkward.”

“Garen asked me, and I accepted,” I said. By the expression on my face Quinn could tell that I was not happy about it.

“Well, he is going to have the best stylin, most beautiful date,” she complimented.

I thought about actually revealing my identity to Quinn.

“Quinn?” I said nervously.

“I’m not into girls, Luna. I meant that in a bromance way, except we are women.”

“No,” I replied, trying to stay calm, “I lied about something, and I really do want to tell you the truth.”

Quinn raised an eyebrow, “Well what is it?”

“You have to promise not to tell anybody.”

“I swear to my passed brother, it will just be our secret.”

“Well, Ezreal found out by himself….”

“ _Just tell me already._ ”

We sat on my bed and I took a deep breath.

I could not look her in the eyes, “My name is not actually Luna.”

Quinn shrugged, “Okay, that’s not really a big deal.”

“That is not just it,” I said. I noticed my hands were shaking.

“I am Diana, Scorn of the Moon. The enemy of Leona, the Radiant Dawn. I am the one who murdered all of the Solari leaders.”

Quinn did not say anything. She listened to my story that I had told Ezreal. She was silent when I told the excuse of why I faked my identity, and how sorry I was to lie for this long.

I finished and waited patiently for Quinn’s response. It seemed Valor had entered the room as well and sat behind Quinn and me on the bed.

“I’m glad you told me,” Quinn said, “and I understand your reason of lying.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“When do you plan on telling the prince?” she inquired.

“Definitely sometime after the ball. Perhaps if I tell and then agree to fight in the next Noxus battle, he might reason.”

Quinn nodded and stood up from my bed.

“I better get to designing that skin,” she said quietly.

“Wait,” I said before she left my room, “This is just between me, you, and Ezreal, right?”

“I swore on my dead brother Diana. You have nothing to worry about. Seeya.”

When Quinn left I opened my slide door to walked to the Hyrule Barn. Bob was feeding the pigs scraps while Rody swept the floor.

“How are ya Luna?” He asked me.

“I’m okay,” I said,”I have been invited to this ridiculous Champion Ball.”

“Oh yes! Could you tell a specific yordle that Rody and I say hello?”

“Sure, what is their name?”

“Her name is Teedee,” Rody said sadly.

“Teedee!” I chirped, “I know her!”

“She is my sister,” Rody said, “She went to work for the king to help us pay the house bills.”

“They never told us she would not be able to return,” Bob said in a melancholy tone.

“I will find her,” I said. The duo nodded to me and Rody returned to sweeping the floor.

Bob motioned me to follow him “Would you like to see Calypso again?”

“If that is alright,” I said.

Bob opened the gate to Calypso’s pen and we walked in. The horse greeted me with a whinny. I scratched underneath her chin and she nuzzled into my cheek.

“I have to get back to work,” Bob said, “When you are ready to leave, can you shut the gate?”

I nodded and Bob left Calypso and I together. I looked at the wall behind Calypso to see all of the riding gear. Saddle, blanket, bridle, etc. It looked tempting, but I knew better.

I shut the pen door and and walked back to my home. I sat on the recliner in the living room and began to read Garen’s favorite book. It was interesting. Most of the information I had learned on Mount. Targon, but I read on. It was night when I finally finished the book.

As I turned the last page, I saw something familiar.

It was my marking, but a terrible drawing of it. The circle was distorted, the crescent was not proportionate at all. I honestly felt insulted. If someone was to draw the main property that makes me unique, it would be my marking.

I walked to my bedroom to prepare for bed and looked up to the night sky to see the moon barely was visible, which meant the Champion Ball would be on a crescent moon. It was interesting how it was planned that way. In between the full moon and the new moon. 

The calm before the storm.

  



	10. During...Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let the ball begin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I had to split this chapter because I am still not done and I have 10 pages written. 10 digital pages.  
> ALRIGHT READ THIS  
> The couples on the list- I DO NOT SHIP ALL OF THEM. I needed more couples from different city-states.  
> Of course you will notice some intentional ones. Such as *slight spoiler* Darius and Lux.  
> Alright, this chapter is very complicated, and the part 2 is even MORE complicated and harder to read.  
> IF YOU NEED ANY HELP WITH FINDING OUT A CHAMPION'S SKIN, ASK ME.  
> If you need help understanding any of this, don't be afraid to ask.  
> Enjoy!

Quinn held pins in her mouth as she tightened the ribbons around my waist.

“Think of it as a cape that starts at your hips,” she said. Quinn looked amazing. My eye markings inspired her to make some of her own. The gray lines started at her eyebrow down to her cheeks, only separating between her ice blue eyes. She had a fur jacket and her belt covered more of the soft texture. Valor lied on my bed, matching Quinn’s look with a dark gray and brown armor.

Quinn began to rub a paste on my face under my eyes after she did the rest of my makeup.

“Don’t worry,” she said, “This makeup is almost impossible to get off. I made all of it myself. Sorry to say this, but it can only be erased with Valor’s saliva.”

I sighed but let Quinn apply her homemade substance. I found that it was very hard not to look at Quinn’s hot pink hair.

“Valor,” she said to the eagle, “could you bring me the jewelry?”

“Jewelry?” I said.

“Yes, I picked out some pretty neat things.”

Valor “hopped” off my bed and stuck his beak into Quinn’s massive “Skins bag” and pulled out some things. He waited for Quinn to finish the belt-cape and dropped the pieces in her hand.

“Put these earrings on,” she ordered. They were turquoise colored pearls with red feathers attached to the bottom. As I pushed them through my ears (Quinn had to actually pierce them the day before...not fun), Quinn fixed a golden head piece onto my white hair. I still had not “asked” for it to be changed, but it looked ridiculous from what I saw. Quinn made a bow on top of my head and let the rest be loose.

“Done,” Quinn said, turning me towards my glass window, where I could see my reflection. Everything collaborated with one another. The dark navy blue leggings with intricate gold designs. These designs led up right above my hip, keeping together my white blouse. The sleeves were loose yet held onto my arms. Quinn agreed to cover my breasts first with a gold colored half lingerie, then she clipped a white scarf over to a piece that covered my shoulders.

“I also mixed this outfit by adding armor,” Quinn said, “That way you could also just stroll into battle looking better than the rest."

“I never got to look over the invitation list, can I see it?” I asked. Valor brought the list over to me.

“If there are Champs from different city states, they will go with where the male citizen lies,” Quinn said, “If the male does not have a recorded city-state, it will move on to the female.”

I read the list out loud carefully. I ignored the labels after the names.

“Annual Champion Ball List:

 

Demacia:

Prince Jarvan IV-Shyvana

Garen Crownguard-Luna

“Galio-Poppy

Ryze-Kayle

Xin Zhao-Sona

Lucian- Shauna Vayne

Taric-Janna”

Quinn spoke as she tied a necklace on me that matched my earrings; a red ribbon with a turquoise pearl lined around with gold, “Remember, some Champs are just going as friends. Like you and Garen! Well,  I hope so.”

“Freljord:

Trynadamere-Ashe

Lissandra-Trundle

Sejuani-Olaf"

"Awkward," Quinn said, "Hopefully the sisters can keep themselves from throwing ice at one another."

I read on.

"Valor-Anivia

Udyr-Nidalee

 

Noxus:

General Jericho Swain-Cassiopeia Du Couteau”

“ _What_ ,” Quinn said, “I wonder how _that_ is going to work.”

“We will see,” I said before returning to the list.

“Talon-Katarina Du Couteau

Vladimir-Elise

Draven-Morgana

Darius-Luxanna Crownguard”

 _Uh oh_ , I thought.

“Yeah,” Quinn said, giggling, “Garen tried to stop Lux, but she decided it would be less awkward if a Demacian and a Noxian came together. She really is the definition of a dumb blonde.”

 

“Ionia:

Karma-Lee Sin

Varus-Quinn

Wukong-Ahri

Shen-Akali

Master Yi-Irelia

 

Piltover:

Caitlyn-Jayce

Ezreal-Jinx”

Quinn heard the disgust in my words when I said those obvious two names.

“I promise you,” Quinn said, “They are just buds. I mean nothing could ever spark between them, that would be--”

“ _Shut up Quinn_ ,” I growled before moving on.

 

“Bilgewater:

Graves-Miss Fortune

Fizz-Nami

 

Bandle City:

Teemo-Tristana

Veigar-Lulu

 

Shurima:

Nasus-Sivir

Malzahar-LeBlanc"

“What?” Quinn scoffed, “They don’t even talk!”

 

“Zaun:

Blitzcrank-Orianna”

“Aww that’s cute,” Quinn swooned, “Robot and robot.”

 

I froze at the next group.

“What is it?” Quinn asked.

“Mount Targon,” I whispered. Quinn grabbed the list from my hand and spoke.

 

“Leona…Pantheon

End.”

I felt my body go cold.

I shook my head, “If they recognize me--”

“They won’t,” Quinn interrupted, “Not if you change the rest of your physical appearance. Here, go outside and do your magic stuff.”

Quinn slid opened the glass window and pushed me outside. I looked up to the moon.

 _Please help me_ , I begged, _They will take me away in front of everyone. They will announce who I really am. Please, my ally, my higher power, my spirit. Please change me._ ”

I felt power surge through my veins, the same power that I had felt when I changed into Valkyrie. The heat of my blade returned, and my marking grew cold like the snow on the highest point of the Ironspike Mountains. Then suddenly, the feelings disappeared.

I turned to Quinn, which she had a grin on her face.

“Once again, you are everything I asked for,” she said. I walked back into my room and slid the window closed and looked at my reflection. My now dark purple hair had grown much longer that Quinn had begun to tie a red ribbon to keep parts of the locks together. My eye color changed to a dark blue. I unhooked my blade from my hip to see it was silver in the inner part, but on the outside it was covered with a golden plate which had also golden designs to brighten it even more.

“What about my marking?” I asked Quinn.

"Did you not think I would of thought Leona would be coming?” Quinn asked.

She walked to her “fashion bag” and pulled out two gems, one which was a dim blue, and the other was bright turquoise.

“Put this gem into your headpiece,” Quinn said, handing me the turquoise one, “They will combine and cover your marking from Leona, and I will be next to you to match.”

“Thank you, Quinn,” I said.

“No problem... _Diana_ ,” she said. I glared at Quinn, causing her to burst out laughing.

The gem did fit perfectly into the headpiece, which made a question pop up into my mind.

“Quinn, how did make these armor pieces?” I asked.

“Poppy helped me out,” she replied, “She is a great blacksmith.”

Quinn spoke as she began to gather her things, “Well, it’s time for me to leave. Everyone is meeting at Jarvan ballroom inside of his castle. I would just walk to Garen and Lux’s mansion and just wait inside till everyone is ready. Oh yeah, have fun keeping Garen away from strangling Darius.”

I chuckled and walked with Quinn outside my house. She waved bye as she walked with Valor on her shoulder to the king’s castle. Bob’s family were sitting in chairs outside.

“Why are you all sitting outside?” I asked.

“Luna!” Zelda gasper, “You look absolutely gorgeous!”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“When the clocks strikes midnight,” Bob said,“fireworks shoot up in the air from the castle. These streets are crowded with people, so we decided to get an early seat.”

“I will see you all later,” I said, bowing my head and turning to walk to the Crownguard’s home.

I knocked on the door, “It is Luna,” I called. The door whipped open to reveal Darius.

“Is that you, spit lady?” he asked.

“Yes, it is, and if you do not get out of my way, I will spit in your face again,” I growled.

He stepped back, obviously knowing that I would carry on my threat if he stood there for any longer.

I walked to Lux’s room and knocked, “Open up, it is just me.”

The door opened, my arm was grabbed, and I was pulled harshly into the mage’s room. She slammed the door.

“Did Garen see you?” She asked. She was in a blue skirt, blue top, white gloves, blue socks, blue shoes, and a blue witch hat that had a bow tied around it. She had a yellow belt and yellow “wings” on her shoulders which matched her yellow hair. A brown wand was on her bed.

“No. I thought your outfit would be pink,” I said in a monotonous voice.

“And I thought your outfit would be black,” she said, her eyes widening.

 _Please don’t say it_ , I thought, beginning to cringe.

“ _LUNA!_ ” her voice booming, “I’m so surprised!”

“Um, yes,” I said, my ears still recovering, “It was all Quinn’s idea.”

“You almost look completely different!”

_Good._

“Luckily, you have your crescent blade to prove who you are.”

 _Shit_ , I thought. How could I forget? Leona would know who I was instantly.

“Lux,” I said, “Can you see the blade obviously? I do not want to accidentally cause trouble.”

“As long as your belt-cape thing doesn’t move around too much, I can not see it at all! I only saw it because I pulled you in aggressively. Sorry about that by the way!”

“It is fine,” I said, breathing out a sigh of relief. As long as I did not make any fast movements, I should be fine. Hopefully.

“How’s my outfit,” she asked, “I call it “Sorceress Lux”.

“Umm,” I mumbled. I did not really have a fashion sense, “I mean, I think it looks pretty nice. Darius will love it. By the way wh--”

“I see you have noticed,” Lux interrupted, “He is actually not that bad of a person. He has never killed me in battle, even if he could have easily.”

“Really?” I said, actually very surprised.

“He had me cornered once. I knew I would not stand a chance. I was already low on health, and I did not have any energy left, his axe was leaning into my neck, but he let me go. He pulled away, turned around, and ran back into the jungle, as if nothing ever happened.”

“Interesting,” I replied to her story.

“My ankle wasn't sprained because I jumped up in down after we won the last battle,” Lux continued, “An Elder Lizard attacked me, and next thing I know, Darius cut the beast in half, saving my life. Then he asked me to the Champion Ball, and I accepted. You can’t really say no to someone who just saved your life.”

There was a hard knock on the door, “Are you two ready?” Garen said.

“He is really angry with me,” Lux whispered, “but he promised not to ruin this night for me, which means not strangling Darius.”

I smiled to myself for thinking about Quinn’s comment before.

“We are ready!” Lux called back to the door, “Go to living room or something!”

We heard fading footsteps. Lux opened the door.

“I think you’ll like what Garen’s wearing,” Lux said, “It kind of matches yours. Dreadknight Garen. He always tries making scary names for his skins. Actually, what’s yours?”

Before we walked into the living room I said the skin name, “Lunar Goddess Luna.”

_Wish I could say Diana._

“That’s really pretty!” Lux chirped, and then there we were, right in front of the two men. Darius smiled when he saw Lux. He of course was wearing his regular attire. His Noxian pride was too good for costumes.

I looked at Garen. His skin almost matched with mine in a way. His armor was a mix of black and gray, with white fur on the shoulders and a dark purple chest plate. His over-sized sword was also black and gray, but it held purple designs. I was not surprised at his expression when he saw me. Of course he was shocked. I was wearing mostly _white_.

“Shall we take the carriage to the castle?” Lux asked. Garen cleared his throat, “Uh, um, yes.”

Two white horses led our carriage to the kingdom.  Lux and I sat across from one another, Lux winning at the biggest smile. Citizens ran next to the carriage cheered. There was a small window on the carriage door and I waved to a group of children, smiling as they waved back.

The carriage stopped, hinting that we were at the gates of the kingdom. The carriage began to move again to the front of a different part of the castle.

A butler opened the carriage door from the men’s side. I was going to just go the other way, but Lux kicked my foot and tilted her head to her right. Darius and Garen were waiting to help us down. Lux grabbed Darius’s hand and hopped down. Garen to my hand and I stepped down slowly, which made sense because I had never even rode a carriage. Lux scooped her arm into Darius’s and they made their way to two large golden doors, ones that led to the ballroom.

I copied Lux, also inserting my arm through Garen’s. It made me think how Ezreal and I did it once, right after I had proven myself to the prince that I was war material. I shook the thought out of my head, not trying to make myself upset.

Two servants opened the large golden doors and we walked in. I was nervous, I had not even learned to dance.

_Please let me not have to dance._

Almost every “Champion” was dressed into a different skin. Kayle was unmasked, her wings spread out wider and longer. I was surprised to see how she looked. A clear face, blonde, and sky blue eyes. Lucian walked past me, his black braids now white dreads. He winked at me.

“I was inspired by someone,” he whispered. Vayne matched with her white hair, her skin in an aristocrat form. I saw Ionians bow their heads as Karma passed in what is called a “Sakura” skin. She walked with the blind Lee Sin, who also matched with just sunglasses over his eyes. I do not even want to explain what Miss Fortune was wearing, her purple dress made it hard for the men not to stare. King Tryndamere and Queen Ashe walked side by side in their royal attire. Sona looked cheerful in her Guqin skin, walking with an Imperial Xin Zhao.

“Well look who it is,” Quinn said behind me. I turned to see her with a blue archer.

“Varus, this is Luna. Luna, Varus. To match the lovely gem on my forehead, he went with an Arctic Ops skin. I like your gem as well Luna, I wonder where you got it?”

“Oh lovely Quinn,” I said sarcastically, “What would I do without your wise gem picking?”

“Compliment no more, peasant,” she replied, which made us both start to laugh.

“ _WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BALLROOM!_ ” I heard a voice yell out.

“That, would be Jinx,” Quinn said, “She always likes making an appearance.”

“Shall we go see the Prince Jarvan IV and Shyvana?” Garen asked, distracting me from how much I wanted to punch that misfit in the face. I nodded my head and walked with him. We saw the prince laughing with Shyvana. I lifted an eyebrow to Jarvan’s attire. Garen started to laugh as well.

“Do you like it?” Jarvan said through his laughs, “A Dragonslayer skin, when my date is half-dragon!”

Shyvana rolled her eyes, “Well I look much better than you do. You don't see my Ironscale look everyday.”

Shyvana did not have horns. Instead, it was a pink-red hair and she wore iron armor, with dragon heads as her gloves. 

“You look very nice,” Jarvan said, giving me what looked like a smile.

 _Well you are about to hate me after this ball thing_ , I thought.

“I try,” I joked, which made Garen grin.

“I do not mean to pry,” I said, “but I could not help but notice on the list that General Swain was here.”

Jarvan frowned, “Yes, he is, but we have agreed to only make “peace” when we have these annual balls.”

I spoke to Garen beside me, trying to get out of the awkward situation, “Is it alright if I can separate for now to introduce myself to the others from different city states?”

Garen chuckled, “You do not need permission to do what you like here.”

I turned around, dragging my belt-cape thing with me (that is what I have officially named it).

It was a nice feeling that I did not have to feel so biased to one city state, I could finally talk to another and see if _The Various Cultures of Valoran_ book was true.

\----

Jinx had arrived only one day before the ball itself, giving hardly any time for Ezreal to find something that matched with Jinx’s Mafia outfit. Ezreal decided in the end just to buy a normal suit in Demacia

“But that’s so boring,” Jinx complained, “What about like a _PULSEFIRE EZREAL WITH A FUTURISTIC LOOK?!_ ”

“No Jinx.”

“Awww...”

Ezreal lightly kicked the couch in his very own suite in the castle, “I just don’t have anything formal.”

“I’m sure that pretty little Diana of yours won’t care what you look like.”

Ezreal had to tell Jinx about his finding, otherwise she would destroy everything in his house. Jinx could tell Ezreal was upset right when she stepped off the boat, so Ezreal told her everything, in which Jinx’s reply was that Ezreal has a crush.

“I do not want to talk about this right now, Jinx,” Ezreal snapped.

“Shut up Ezreal,” Jinx said, pulling out a red wig from her duffel bag, “I bet tomorrow, she will be in some attire that someone made for her. She probably will look hott, but we both know that she would be alright wearing her own clothes. She is probably all fancy though because she will be attending the ball with someone who is way higher class than you.”

“What?” Ezreal asked, now interested into Jinx’s blabbering.

“Oh, I was just sneaking around earlier today when we first arrived into the castle and I just happened to hear the prince and that dragon lady talking about a certain couple--” Jinx stop in the middle to straighten up and mock the prince’s deep voice, “Joyfully hope that Luna can finally focus on someone who will take respectful care of her, someone such as Garen Crownguard. He is taking her to the ball correct?” Jinx returned into her hunched pose, “And then they turned the corner. So yeah, Demacia man and your little Diana, Luna, _whatever_ , will be side by side tomorrow night.”

Ezreal’s hands balled up into fists and the amulet glowed.

“Oo, someone is a little jealous?” Jinx teased.

“I need to get that suit and some temporary black paint,” Ezreal said.

“Leave the paint to me!” Jinx announced, then she ran out of the suite.

 _Probably going to sneak out of the castle, steal the paint, and then come right back in as if nothing happened_ , Ezreal thought.

Later in the day, Ezreal arrived to a tailor store and approached the clerk. He set a pouch of gold on the table.

“I need the best suit you have here and I need it measured to fit me,” he said. The clerk stared at the gold pouch before nodding his head to Ezreal’s demand.

For hours the tailor stuck safety pins into Ezreal’s body and angle him in awkward positions, but the suit was finally finished. Ezreal paid and took the wrapped suit back to the castle, the sun finally setting.

When he opened the door to his suite, Jinx was already there, sleeping on his couch, with the paint cradled in her arms.

Ezreal took off his amulet and felt weak instantly. It had been a while since he had taken off the glove(he even wore it sleeping). He began to paint carefully, not wanting to miss any spots. He finished and was proud at his creation. Once he pushed the amulet back onto his arm, he felt much better as the power entered throughout his body again.

Ezreal looked at Jinx drooling on the couch. He knew that couch would be much comfortable than the room the prince had given her.

 _I guess she can sleep there tonight_ , he thought.

Ezreal walked into his bedroom and climbed into his bed, too lazy to change out of his regular clothes. He was ready to see Luna tomorrow, but not on Garen’s side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the crappy writing errors by the way.


	11. During...Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events that happen during the ball. Diana meets new champions, good and bad, but she also sees her old enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I won't be able to post another chapter for a while. My father is highly against computers, and since I will be spending a little over a month with him, I cannot write anything.  
> But hey, this chapter doesn't have a cliffhanger!

“ _WAKE UP!_ ” Jinx’s booming voice barked as she jumped up and down on Ezreal’s bed.

“I’m awake!” Ezreal shouted back, shooting Jinx in the face with a light spark.

“Ugh, no need to be cranky.”

Jinx jumped off the bed and pulled the covers off Ezreal.

“What time is it?” Ezreal asked.

“Almost the middle of the day!” Jinx cheered, “I gave you time to clean yourself up.”

Ezreal yawned and motioned Jinx to leave his room. When the door was shut, Ezreal entered the washroom to take a shower.

 _Today is the day_ , he thought as he rinsed.

Ezreal put on his suit early, mostly because he knew he would be having to help Jinx with all of her stuff.

“ _Are you almost done?!"_  Jinx shrieked behind his bedroom door. Ezreal opened the door and let Jinx study him.

“Don’t slick your hair back,” she said seriously.

“Why not?” Ezreal whined.

“Because Luna is going to want the _natural_ Ezreal, not a full-on gentleman.”

Ezreal shook out his hair with his fingers and looked back up at Jinx.

“Much better!” she said, “Now move.”

Ezreal stepped to the side as Jinx rushed to the washroom with her things.

He walked into the rest of the suite to see a breakfast table in the center, most of the things eaten already.

 _Jinx really does have a big appetite, considering how thin she is_ , he thought.

Ezreal grabbed a blueberry muffin and ate it as he read the _Valoran Times_. The front headline was of course the announcment of the Annual Champion Ball. Ezreal honestly did not want to go, but Jinx had begged him to because until this year she never was allowed to attend. Since Ezreal did not have any rivals, it was easy for him to take anyone he wanted to the ball. Him and Caitlyn made an agreement that she could try to capture Jinx after the occasion. Vi was to be at the ball as a bodyguard, but in the end, she would probably not catch Jinx either.

Jinx slammed open the bedroom door, her hair still dripping with water. Ezreal laughed at her outfit.

“You never wear dresses,” he said.

“I’ve never been to a ball before,” Jinx growled, “and it’s not a dress, it’s a _flapper_.” She began to shove on a red wig with a feather headpiece.

“Jinx, we don’t have to be in the ballroom until after sunset,” Ezreal said.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Jinx asked, stopping her action.

“I thought you already knew.”

“ _NOBODY LIKES ME IN THIS DAMN COUNTRY._ ”

“Hey! I think you are okay!”

“You don’t count.”

Jinx began to design her weapons, Pow-Pow and Fishbones.

“You don’t plan on using those, do you?” Ezreal asked.

“Of course not you idiot,” Jinx replied, “They are for intimidation and decoration. Isn’t that right guys?”

Ezreal questioned the troublemaker’s sanity most of the time, but he was becoming use to it by now. Jinx had arrived at his doorstep covered in dust that her blue hair looked dark gray. She collapsed into Ezreal’s arms and he brought her in, not knowing who she was until the next morning when Jinx woke up Ezreal by jumping on his bed.

And then they built a friendship. Sure she was crazy and the most wanted evil villain in all of Piltover, but Jinx knew she was forever in his debt and that she would cause no harm to the explorer. Ezreal made it clear he wanted nothing to do with her endeavors, and though it disappointed her, she accepted it.

“Pay attention!” she yelled, throwing a muffin at Ezreal’s face, which he swiftly dodged, “When we get there, I’m going to ditch you once I meet Luna to hang out with the Noxians, therefore, you can talk to the moon lady one on one.”

“She’s probably going to be stuck to Garen’s side though,” Garen mumbled.

“Knowing her from what you’ve told me, she is going to want to meet new people. You know, get comfortable. Until Leona shows up.”

Ezreal eyes grew wide, “What happens if Leona finds out it’s Luna?”

“That’s where I come in,” Jinx said, “I cause a _massive_ distraction, and you two get out of there.”

“You’re actually willing to get arrested to save a woman you don’t even know?”

“I’m not going to get caught you halfwit!”

When Jinx completely finished, it was already dark. She was clipping a bowtie on Ezreal in the washroom.

“Luna will love this,” she said, “Does she seem like the one who likes goofiness?”

“Well, I always try to be funny around her,” Ezreal replied, “Most of the time she is either brooding or she talks about being annoyed by everyone.”

“I’m beginning to like this girl more and more,” Jinx said.

Jinx stepped back and grinned, “Shall we head out, Sir Ezreal?”

Ezreal swallowed and looked at himself in the washroom mirror. He probably would look the most boring out of everyone at the ball, but he didn’t mind.

Ezreal and Jinx walked through the many wings of the castle before finally arriving to the ballroom doors. The doors were opened, and there everyone was.

“ _WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BALLROOM!_ ” Lux announced.

“Shh!” Ezreal hissed, but they directed too much attention. Other Champions gave judging looks as they saw Ezreal’s attire.

“Let’s find that lovely Luna of yours,” Jinx whispered in his ear. They walked around, not hooking arms like the rest of the couples. Jinx grabbed a champagne glass off one of the servant’s trays and sipped it.

“I must say you do look very dull compared to everyone, Ezreal,” Jinx said.

“Shut up,” Ezreal said, still trying to keep a smile on his face.

“Alright, where would moon woman be?” Jinx asked.

“Well, I would guess not the Demacians,” Ezreal said, “She has had enough of them.”

“I don’t think she would want to hang out with Katarina either,” Jinx added, “Let’s ask Karma.”

They found the Enlightened One talking to the Nine-Tailed Fox.

“Hello Ezreal, Jinx,” Karma’s greeted, her head bowing slightly to each.

“We were wondering if you’ve seen Luna,” Jinx said, getting right to the point.

“I had an interesting conversation with her,” Karma replied in her soft voice, “I think she wanted to meet Teemo.”

“Thank you,” Ezreal said, bowing his head before leaving.

“So now we have to find the gerbil,” Jinx whined. The two walked around the dining tables. Everyone would sit down to eat once the mingling was finished.

Before they found Teemo, Jinx pointed to the three Frejord sisters arguing with each other.

“Well that is awkward,” Jinx said.

Teemo was handing Tristana punch when Ezreal and Jinx approached them.

“Hi Teemo!” Ezreal said to the yordle.

“Hi Ezreal, hello Jinx!” Teemo replied, trying to not look at the strange looking woman. Teemo was dressed in his regular attire, Tristana had a rocket girl theme.

“Have you seen Luna anywhere?” Ezreal asked politely.

“Luna! She is so kind,” Tristana chirped, “I saw her talking to a yordle servant. I swear she was right--”

“ _Turn around_ ,” Jinx interrupted, “If that’s Luna, she is hotter than my Super Mega Death Rocket.”

Ezreal turned around to see a woman who at first he did not recognize.She was talking with a yordle who seemed very excited to see her.

Long dark purple hair ended at her fingertips and the cloth started at her hips ran down to the ground, following behind her. The white blouse surprised Ezreal. Well, her entire appearance surprised him.

Diana looked absolutely beautiful.

“Luna?” Ezreal called.

\----

I found Teedee after Teemo pointed her out to me. I walked over to where she was filling cups with punch.

“Teedee,” I said. The female yordle jumped and turned around.

“Luna Luna Luna!” she cheered, running to me and hugging my leg, “I thought I would never see you again.”

 _Me either_ , I thought.

“I have to tell you something,” I said, “My next door neighbors are Bob, Zelda, RJ, Midna, and Rody.”

Teedee’s eyes widened and she stuttered, “A-are they al-alright?”

“They look like it,” I said, “I also met Calypso.”

“She is the best horse ever,” Teedee said.

“Luna?” I heard a voice. I turned my head to see Ezreal. In a suit.

“Ezreal, you are in a _suit_ ,” I said, adding a hint of sarcasm.

He walked towards me, dragging a woman behind him. He swung her around in front of me.

“Luna,” Ezreal started, “this is Jinx.”

I felt an anger rise up in me, my hand close to my blade.

“Nice to meet ya,” Jinx said, “I’m just Ezreal’s _friend_ by the way. I’m going away now.”

The orange haired woman ran off into the crowd. I looked to my side to see Teedee was gone.

“Um, hey,” Ezreal said, scratching the back of his neck, “Sorry I didn’t tell you about Jinx.”

“I do not care Ezreal,” I scoffed, “I was never told about this ridiculous ball anyway. I would not have come in the first place, but I was asked, so I accepted.”

“You’re with Garen right?” Ezreal asked, “Where is he?”

“I wanted to meet new people, there is nothing wrong with that.”

Ezreal rolled his eyes, “Are you just trying to push me away now that I know abou--”

 _“What are you trying to do, kill me?”_ I hissed.

“No, I-I’m sorry.”

I sighed, “I am sorry too, Ezreal. I am just nervous because Leona is somewhere around this crowd.”

“Speaking of Leona,” Ezreal whispered.

I looked at the ballroom doors to see a woman covered in iron armor and bright red hair.

“ _No_ ,” I said, feeling cold.

Ezreal faced me and grabbed my head with both of his hands.

“First of all,” he began, “you look beautiful.”

“Thank you, but tha--”

“ _Second_ , Leona will not be able to recognize you as…” Ezreal lowered his voice, “ _Diana_ , because you do not even have the resemblance. Not to mention your markings are covered.”

“But my blade,” I said, pulling the belt-cape back to reveal it, “If I make any sharp movements, it will be revealed.”

“I will be at your side,” Ezreal said, then lifting an eyebrow, “Well, most of the time at least. You have gigantic Garen to protect you.”

I laughed. It was good having that feeling again.

“By the way,” Ezreal said, “I like the scarf.”

“Well,” I replied, “it was all Quinn’s idea.”

I looked at Ezreal’s outfit. His was very simple compared to the rest. I grinned at the lopsided bowtie.

“I like that,” I said, poking the added attire. Ezreal smiled and evened it.

“Luna,” a deep voice said. It was Garen, holding his arm out for me to grab.

“Shall we head to the dinner table?” he asked. I gave my famous annoyed expression to Ezreal that only he and Quinn understood.

“Of course,” I said to Garen, grabbing his arm gently to be led elsewhere.

“So who did you meet?” he asked.

“Most of the Ionians and the yordles, Caitlyn and Jayce from Piltover. I was going to try to talk to...you know…”

“The Noxians?”

“Yes, but I might have decapitated Katarina if I saw her.”

Garen laughed, and then gained his composure quickly.

We walked to a circle table and sat down with the prince and Shyvana.

“Who else will be sitting with us?” I asked Jarvan as I sat down

“City-states usually try to sit with their rivals,” he said, not having the most amused look on his face, “I have requested Garen and you to be at my right hand. General Swain has requested Talon and Katarina.”

I held back the urge to grab my blade for battle. It looked like Shyvana also was trying to not turn into a dragon.

“Why did they not have Darius and Luxanna join us?” I said.

“Because General Swain wants to provoke me,” Garen growled.

“Garen,” Jarvan said to his friend, “We must not let actions like those aggravate us.” Garen bowed his head in reply.

The Noxians arrived in front of us, their leader holding a crutch. General Jericho Swain was not wearing any sort of new attire, unlike Cassiopeia, who was wearing a Mythic skin. Swain stroked his raven’s feathers, looking straight into my eyes.

Katarina’s skin suited her. Skulls were attached to her knees and belt, even the daggers had skulls on the grip.

“Do you like it?” the Sinister’s Blade purred, “It’s my High Command look. I thought you would stare.”

I grinded my teeth.

“Hello Shyvana,” Talon said, “I went for my Dragonblade look. I hope you’re not offended. Since you can be a bit temperamental.”

Shyvana smiled at Talon, “Good to see you and Katarina made it early. I almost thought you would have stopped halfway to have a “chat” with one another.”

Katarina reached for her daggers, but Talon hugged her from behind.

“Shh,” he whispered loudly, “Do not let them bother you, fellow assassin.”

The Noxians sat down at the table. I knew of course that I would have to be sitting next to an enemy. I just did not know it would be General Swain.

“You wish to not sit next to a fellow commander General?” Jarvan asked, obviously noticing I was quite shocked to be sitting next to the highest power in all of Noxus.

“No thank you Prince Jarvan IV,” Swain replied. His raven sat on top of his crutch, looking above the table.

I was not afraid of the General, that was never to happen, but I was nervous.

“I have never seen you before,” I heard him speak to me.

“I have not been in Demacia for long,” I said, refusing to look away from the General’s eyes

 _Do not show weakness_ , I thought.

“Where do you come from?”

“I was first seen in Piltover,” I replied.

_He is no different from anyone else._

“Do you like it here?” he said through the cloth over his mouth.

_Is he going to ask me questions all night?_

“Yes,” I said curtly.

“I see.”

Servants arrived with food, placing them in front of us.

_Finally._

While we ate I felt a poke on my back. I turned around to see it was Valor, the bird motioning his head behind him. When I looked I saw Quinn, who was sitting with Varus, Ryze, Kayle, Draven, and Morgana.

 _Awkward_ , I thought, looking at the two sisters trying to make conversation.

“Are you okay?” Quinn lipped out. I nodded in reply, and then turned around.

“So Luna,” Katarina began, “Did that wound of yours heal up nicely?”

“Yes, since Sona happens to be one of the best healers in all of Valoran,” I said politely back. Katarina frowned at my reaction.

“I heard you carried her off the battlefield, Garen,” Talon said flirtatiously.

 _What is with this couple_ , I thought.

“A fellow Demacian was injured,” Garen replied firm.

“Well I heard Dariuss help your ssiter when sshe wass injured,” Cassiopeia slithered.

I felt Garen tense next to me, “What?”

“She didn’t tell you?” Katarina said, her voice growing into a baby tone, “Darius saved little Luxy from an Elder Lizard. He is way too old for her.”

Garen was about to snap, but I interrupted him, “That was very kind of him.”

“Oh yes!” Katarina chirped, “I also heard Ezreal was never hurt! Strange to think people can jump to such strange conclusions.”

Now I was becoming angry. I could feel my marking burn underneath the headpiece.

“Ugh, and to think he would drop his reputation so low with a woman like Jinx,” Talon complained.

“Hush,” General Swain ordered. The two assassins immediately shut their mouths and stood up straight, eating their meals in silence.

“You will have to excuse those two,” Swain purred, “They seem to verbally attack others when they are jealous.”

I looked to see Talon staring at my breasts. I looked at Swain to see that he also had his eyes on my upper chest.

_I wish this scarf was bigger._

“I will be back,” I said, standing up from the table. I walked to the washroom quickly. Right as I shut the door I began to take deep breaths. I looked into the mirror to see my roots were becoming white.

 _No!_ I thought. I took another deep breath, and the dark hair returned. The washroom door opened to reveal Karma.

“Do not let them trouble you,” the wise woman said, laying her hand on my cheek, “They will keep trying to injure you through their words until you do something you will regret.”

“Thank you,” I said. Karma walked with me outside of the washroom and we separated back to our tables.

Shyvana was speaking to Cassiopeia, “Well, you see, I have to change into my form. Your physical body is half woman, half snake.”

“I sometimes feel my sister is always trying to have people feed her with compliments,” Katarina said, smiling at her sibling’s tongue flicker.

The dinner plates were taken away, which would mean the dance would begin.

“I’m just letting you know, Garen,” I whispered in his ear, “I do not know how to dance.”

“It’s not too difficult,” Garen replied, “I will lead, and you follow along.”

The entire ballroom was now filled with dancers, and now I would have to be a part of it. I placed my left on his shoulder, and then my right into his hand.

I followed along, surprising myself that it was not that difficult. Though I did not see why this activity was so enjoyable.

Garen and I danced next to Lux and Darius. Anytime Lux and I were close to one another, we would whisper conversations.

“So, Lux,” I said, “Talon and Swain were “appreciating my appearance” and noticed the “attractive qualities” of mine.”

“Uh, Luna?” Lux said when we passed again, “Almost every champion has noticed both of those things you said.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“May I please steal this woman away?” Ezreal said, appearing out of nowhere.

“Of course,” Garen replied, trying to hide a glare.

Ezreal spun me around, exaggerating the movements.

“The blade!” I squealed.

“Sorry,” he said, slowing down.

“Oh everything is so lovely,” he said in Fiora’s accent, “but I am afraid I am much too royal for this.”

I tried to hide my laughter. I looked up to see the eagle and cryptophoenix dancing around each other.

“Isn’t that cute?” I said to Ezreal.

“Woa there!” Ezreal said, overdoing a gasp, “You just said isn’t and cute in the same sentence. It’s a new day.”

“Oh shut up” I said, hitting his chest with my free hand. Ezreal’s hand was surprisingly soft in mine. I could imagine since he wore gloves all the time, as I do as well. His other hand felt gentle on my hip, as if trying to keep boundaries to help me feel comfortable.

I looked at the upside down triangles underneath Ezreal’s eyes.

“I wish we could match eye markings today,” I admitted.

“Me too,” he replied.

“Hello Ezreal,” I heard a very familiar voice speak.

Ezreal’s face became pale.

“Hello...Leona.”

I separated from Ezreal and he swiftly stepped in front of me. I still held his hand, squeezing tightly.

“Are you enjoying tonight?” she asked.

 _Not anymore_ , I thought.

“It has been a pretty amazing night,” he said.

Pantheon stood over Ezreal, just like Jarvan. He was wearing Full Metal.

“Who are you with Ezreal?” he asked.

“Well,” Ezreal started, keeping his voice cheerful, “I’m actually came with Jinx, but I’m dancing with someone else.”

“Let me see her,” Leona ordered. Ezreal stepped away from me and I kept my gaze from my arch nemesis.

“Hi,” I said, forcing a smile, “My name is Luna. I have lived in Demacia, but recently I have decided to prove myself as a fellow Champion.”

“It is very nice to meet you,” Leona replied, “You have always lived in Demacia?”

“We grew up in Piltover together,” Ezreal said, “I asked her if she would like to live in Demacia, because she wanted to meet new people.”

“It is always good to see a new face here in this ballroom every year,” Pantheon said, muffled from his helmet.

I could feel my crescent blade heating against my leg. If I did not calm down, I could jeopardize everything.

“Let’s go back to dancing Luna!” Ezreal said, pulling me away. I leaned my head into his chest.

“Thank you,” I whispered as we swayed to the slow classical music. Ezreal took his hand from my hip and began to brush through my hair.

“I’m always here to save the day,” he said, and I did feel safe when Ezreal was by my side.

“I told Jinx,” he whispered.

My stomach dropped, I froze, “What?”

“I had to, we can trust her--”

 _“You told Jinx?”_ I hissed.

“I’m sorry Luna, just list--”

I separated from him, taking a few steps back.

“I have not even had one conversation with her!”

“Shh!”

“She could ruin everything Ezreal!”

Ezreal walked closer to me, “Calm down, Luna. You need to control yourself.”

“Hello Lady Luna,” General Swain said behind me.

 _Oh Summoner no_ , I thought. I turned around to meet face to face with the masked Noxian.

“Would you care to join me for a dance?” He asked. It is not like I could deny. I did not want to cause any trouble.

“Yes,” I said, taking his hand. He brought me in, taking me away from Ezreal.

“You are a natural, for one who has never danced before,” he said.

“Wait, how--”

“I have studied you, Lady Luna.”

Swain was a surprisingly good dancer for having a limp.

“What have you seen?” I asked him.

“That you are different than a normal Demacian.”

“I have never been the social type.”

“Indeed, it seems.”

I looked over Swain’s shoulder to see Jarvan and Garen staring at us.

“Ignore the prince,” he said, “Just focus on the dance.” I nodded.

“You would be a fine Noxian soldier,” he said, trailing his fingers up and down the side of my torso.

“I am sorry to say I am not interested,” I replied.

“That is unfortunate.”

The song ended, and I was grateful for it.

“One last thing,” Swain said. I turned around to face him.

“May I see your weapon? I could not help but notice it for a second.”

“It’s very personal to me,” I replied, trying to quickly walk next to Garen.

“Let me see,” he said, but in not his usual voice, but in a monstrous growl that did not sound humane.

I moved my belt-cape to reveal my blade against my leg. The ballroom chandeliers brightened it. I looked around me to see if Leona was near.

“Interesting,” Swain said, looking at closely, “What do you call it?”

“A khopesh,” I said, throwing the cape over it. I turned around and quickly walked up to Garen, making sure the cape never left my leg open. I looped my arm through Garen’s.

“When is this over?” I asked nervously.

“It ends soon. Are you alright?” he asked me next.

“I am fine, I just do not like having our enemy’s leader asking me personal questions. Did you not see how he touched me while we danced?!”

“We wanted to interrupt,” Jarvan said, turning to talk to Garen and me, “but it was too risky. We thought he would try to harm you.”

“That’s the exact opposite,” I whispered, just enough so the two men could hear, “He wants me to join the Noxian army.”

“That will never happen,” Garen said, pulling me closer to him, “What did you say?”

“I said I am not interested,” I answered.

“He will keep trying,” Jarvan said.

“Why does he want _me_ so badly?” I asked.

“He most likely had his own soldiers tell him how you did in the battle that you fought,” Jarvan responded, “He also knows now that you are not from Demacia. He believes he can manipulate you to change sides.”

“He better get use to disappointment,” I said.

“It’s time for the fireworks!” Shyvana announced. Everyone began to make their way outside to the courtyard.

There were chairs and carpets lying around for Champions to sit on. Garen and I shuffled through to the front where we sat on chairs.

“So how do you feel?” Garen asked.

“I feel better, now that we are outside,” I replied, staring straight up at the crescent moon.

“I figured you would.”

The fireworks exploded in the sky with many different colors. I thought of the Hyrule family, all of them staring up at the sky.

Then everything began to hit me. How I could be a citizen of Demacia, living a normal life. I could even travel all around Runeterra whenever I felt like it, not having to worry about having no where else to go. And if I had to choose one person to do it all with me, it would be…

_Ezreal._

I stood up, running through the all of the Champions.

“Ezreal?” I called out, pushing empty chairs out of my way. This is what the moon meant. It did not order me to enter Zaun, it wanted me to travel through areas where I could see different people. To think before I made an absolute decision.

It wanted me to meet someone who would show me who I actually was.

“Luna?” I heard his voice call out. There Ezreal was, standing near the back, with a confused look and his hand scratching the back of his neck, something I loved so much.

_Love?_

I smiled when I saw him, running closer. I smacked right into his arms and right after he gained his balance, he held me close.

“What is it?” he asked, and right as I was about to confess about how I felt, someone pulled me around.

Leona looked right into my eyes, I looked down to see my belt-cape had been ripped, exposing my crescent blade.

“ _Diana?_ ” she whispered.

“ _BYE BYE!_ ” I heard Jinx’s shout. She pulled out her Super Mega Death Rocket, turned around, and shot it right through the doors of the ballroom, causing a massive explosion.

“ _Let’s go!_ ” Ezreal said, motioning me to follow him back to the ballroom.

“What are we doing?” I asked, “You are going to get us both killed!”

“No where else to run!”

Ezreal and I dodged falling debris, running faster back to the doors that led outside. I could hear Pantheon from above, ready to strike the ground in his Grand Skyfall. I looked back at the doors to see they were blocked with fire.

“What do we do now?!,” I yelled.

“Grab my hand!” he ordered. Right as my hand fell into his I could feel energy pouring into my veins.

“Let’s hope this works!” he shouted

For a second, everything was slow.

 _An Arcane Shift_ , I thought. I blinked my eyes, and suddenly, we were outside, past the fire and the doors.

“Never thought I could do that!” Ezreal said.

We heard a loud thud and pieces of the ballroom exiting outside sideways.

“That would be Pantheon,” I said.

We kept running, not knowing exactly where to go. I looked up to the very top of the castle.

“There,” I said to Ezreal, pointing.

“You ready to run up some stairs?” he asked. I nodded in reply and we began to run faster.

My legs were burning by the time we reached the top. Ezreal opened the door and I ran in, landing on my knees and breathing heavily.

“Stay here, I’m going to get Jarvan,” Ezreal said.

“No!” I yelled, “He will try to kill me!”

“Not while I’m here,” the explorer replied, shutting the door behind him to travel downstairs.

I picked myself up and looked outside the glass window in Jarvan’s office. An entire wing of the castle was in flames. I looked at my reflection to see my hair was almost back to it’s white color, my eyes no longer dark blue.

I heard an eagle shriek. I walked closer to the window to see Valor flying across the window. I looked around for an opening, perhaps Jarvan wanted to see better outside?

I was right, the latch was almost invisible. I cracked open the door for Valor to enter. A wave of arrows fell, and there was Quinn.

“Goodness woman!” she said through short breaths, “What happened?”

“Jinx saved my life,” I said, thanking the insane criminal in my mind.

Quinn noticed my ripped belt-cape, my crescent blade glistening.

“So you’re suppose to just stay in here until everything settles?” Quinn asked.

“Ezreal is bringing Jarvan here.”

“Uh oh.”

“I am ready to jump through that window.”

Quinn grinned and pulled out a vial.

“So here is some Valor spit, in case you want to look like yourself again.”

“I’m going to try to wipe it off myself.”

“Good luck with that!”

I heard a screech in the air and Quinn nodded.

“Here the boys come!” she said. My friend stood to the open window, and with a wave, she jumped off, being replaced by the eagle.

 _I really want to know how she does that_ , I thought.

The door slammed open, Jarvan marching towards me.

“ _Tell me what is happening,_ ” Jarvan demanded.

“I am Leona’s arch nemesis, Diana--”

“Scorn of the Moon,” Jarvan finished for me, “I just thought the story was an urban legend.”

“I have changed though, from what the stories say.”

“You have lost trust throughout the Demacian kingdom.”

I was silent, not knowing how to answer the question at first.

“I never said I want your trust,” I snapped, “I could have been living in Zaun. I denied Swain’s request!”

“What request?” Ezreal asked, both me and Jarvan ignoring him.

“I did not want to die,” I said, my voice growing louder, “just because I proved the Solari Elders wrong.”

“You decided to slaughter _all_ of them?!” Jarvan yelled.

_“I WAS AFRAID!”_

The room became silent.

“I was afraid of being captured again,” I said, lowering my voice to its original pitch, “I wanted to keep living, and the moon helped me.”

“We have no ties with Mount Targon,” Jarvan said, “but Leona is a powerful leader and will stop at nothing to have you in her custody.”

“What request?” Ezreal asked again, once more being ignored.

“I rather fight her on Summoner’s Rift over and over again than be burned alive,” I muttered.

Jarvan’s eyes widened, “If you joined the Demacian army--”

“That is why I wanted to tell all of this,” I said, “I will permanently join the Demacian army if you refuse Leona to capture me.”

“ _WHAT REQUEST?!_ ” Ezreal yelled.

“General Swain wanted me to join the Noxian army,” I said, “I denied of course.”

“Hah! Good choice,” Ezreal replied, trying to make comic relief, “by the way, Luna, your hair is having a struggle between two colors.”

“Ezreal, stay here with…” Jarvan hesitated

“Luna,” I answered.

“ _Luna_ , and I will settle everything.”

“Yes sir,” Ezreal said, bowing his head to the prince. Jarvan left immediately to attend to the important matter at hand.

“Well,” Ezreal said, “might as well get comfortable.”

He walked to the corner of the window and sat down.

“Care to join me?” he asked. I sat down in front of him, leaning my head onto his chest. He began to stroke my hair. It was completely white now.

“I think I told you a while back that I like your hair this color,” Ezreal said.

I took off my headpiece; my marking began to glow.

“I missed that,” Ezreal said, noticing the shine.

I cuddled closer to him, holding his free hand with mine on my thigh.

We watched the fire together, the laugh of Jinx echoing throughout Demacia.

 

 


	12. And After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana must take big risks to have a chance escaping Leona.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay another chapter!  
> I'm in college now, which means it will take a while to update chapters for my stories.  
> Thank you for your patience!

“You shouldn’t be sleeping,” Jarvan IV growled. I woke up, shaking my head to remember the events that just happened. Leona found me, Jinx blew up an entire wing of the Demacian castle, and I fell asleep in Ezreal’s arms.

“Uh, sorry, my Prince,” Ezreal said, who apparently had been sleeping as well.

As we stood up Jarvan talked.

“General Swain has agreed to take you into custody.”

“What?” Ezreal and I said at the same time.

“It will be temporary.”

Ezreal and I sighed in relief.

“I guess custody was not the right word,” Jarvan continued, “You will be under protection in Noxus. Leona has threatened to tear Demacia apart until she finds you. If we tell her General Swain has “recruited” you, she will not take any action. She would not want to put her people in danger if Noxus were to attack.”

“Who all knows about the _true_ situation?” I asked.

“Well, obviously Ezreal. General Swain, Shyvana, Katarina, and I,” Jarvan replied.

“Why Katarina?”

“She is helping with the transfer. Now is there anyone else who knows?”

I paused, not knowing whether to mention Quinn or not.

“Jinx,” I said, “and…”

“Me,” I heard my best friend say, leaning against the window, the massive bird on her shoulder.

“Oh you can not get mad at me for telling Jinx,” Ezreal complained.

“How did you get in here,” Jarvan scoffed.

“I’ve got friends in high places,” Quinn replied with a grin, kicking the window with her heel. Valor huffed.

“She can be trusted,” I said, “What’s next?”

“Swain and I have allowed for you to have five minutes at your home to grab few things,” Jarvan said, “You will then ride with Swain to Noxus.”

When Shyvana entered the room, she was still mutating back into her human form. Her wings were shrinking to arms, and she began standing straight from her crawl.

“It is time,” she said, her breath exhaling smoke, “We must go.”

I looked at Quinn and Valor. She grinned and gave a quick wave, “See ya later, trouble maker.”

Ezreal chuckled before he spoke, “Bring me back some old artifacts.”

I began to walk between Jarvan and Shyvana, fighting the urge to look back.

But I failed.

I turned around and rushed to Ezreal, and his eyes widened of what came next.

It was just a quick kiss on the lips, nothing more. I did not want to be too dramatic, but it made Ezreal have the biggest smile on his face. We rested our foreheads together.

“ _FINALLY!_ ” Quinn yelled, Valor squawking in agreement.

“When this is all over,” Ezreal whispered, “travel to where we first met. I’ll wait for you there, every night.”

We separated and I went with Jarvan and Shyvana once again, this time keeping my head forwards.

The duo led me into a different wing, but that wasn’t the end of it. What looked like just a statue of Jarvan III was also a secret door. The prince pulled down the statue’s saluted arm, and the door swung open. There were stairs that led down into the dark. Jarvan stood in front of me, Shyvana in the back, and we walked down the steps carefully.

“Never speak of this place,” Jarvan said, his voice not the kindest sound.

The stairs ending and we walked down a hallway;It all seemed like a maze.

Finally, Jarvan opened an old wooden door which revealed a parlor. General Swain was sitting on a velvet chair, waiting patiently. Katarina was leaning on the door that was on the other side of the room.

“Took your time, didn’t you?” she sneered.

“Hush,” Swain said to the assassin. He stood up and bowed his head in front of me.

“I thought it was you, Diana,” he said, “You did have a lovely disguise.”

“Like we agreed,” Jarvan spoke, “To her home, and then to Noxus.”

“Of course,” Swain replied.

“What is this place?” I asked.

“This is where leaders from city-states come together to discuss important decisions,” Jarvan answered.

Katarina grabbed me roughly by the arm, “We must hurry.”

I looked at Jarvan IV and Shyvana, “Thank you,” I said, “both of you.”

They nodded in return, and I was taken through the other door.

Once again, I walked through long hallways and ran up steps. When we opened the door, it led outside the gates of the Demacian castle.

A carriage was waiting on the grass and Swain, Katarina, and I entered it. There was silence until I reached my house.

“You have five minutes,” Katarina hissed, “Go.”

I jumped out of the carriage and ran into my home. I grabbed black bag that I could wear on my back and began to shove things inside. Things to clean my weapon and armor, clothes, etc. I changed back into my original armor and pulled my hair back.

Right as I was about to leave, I looked at my kitchen table to see a picture. I looked closer to see it was a children’s drawing with a small note attached.

**_Hi Luna!_ **

**_RJ and I drew this for you becus it’s a speshal night for you. Calypso says hi._ **

**_Love,_ **

**_Midna and RJ and Papa and Mama and Rody and the farm animals and Calypso._ **

The picture was of everyone in the Hyrule family and their livestock, but then I saw me. I could tell RJ drew it, mostly because my hair was just a black outline, the filling suppose to be the hair itself. He made my forehead marking yellow, and my armor looked gigantic. A lump formed in my throat; I didn’t remember my family, and the Hyrule’s made one for me.

I smiled and folded up the piece of paper. I stuck it underneath my glove, holding it in place against my wrist. It was time to go.

I ran outside, holding on to my bag, and jumped back into the carriage.

“I was about to drag you out of there,” Katarina muttered.

"Rest, Diana,” General Swain ordered, “It has been a long night for all of us.”

I wouldn’t be able to sleep. How could I if I had two of the most dangerous people in Valoran less than three feet away from me? Swain in front, Katarina on my right. The only thing that was safe were the thoughts in my mind. My crescent blade rested on my thigh, and I could probably murder the two enemies quickly with it, but at the same time, I felt the desire not to kill.

When the carriage stopped, it was midday. I opened the curtain to be greeted by the sun, and I resisted the urge to hiss.

“We are at the end of the Serpentine River,” Swain told me, “Come outside, let us stretch our legs and eat.”

I did what Swain ordered, stepping outside onto a dirt trail. I looked to my left and saw the blue water flow. If we traveled up river, we would end up in Freljord. If we kept heading south, we would be at the bottom of Mount Targon. I could see the mountain from where I stood, and it made me shudder.

“We are a lot farther from the mountain than you think,” Swain said behind me, “Now join me for our meal.”

A thin sheet was lied out for Swain, Katarina, and me to sit on. The carriage driver ate by the horses, whispering sentences in their ears.

Swain handed me a piece of bread and a wedge of cheese.

“When we arrive in the Noxian Castle, we will have plenty of other choices to eat,” he said.

I looked at the food. Though I highly doubted that Swain would poison me, I still hesitated.

“Are you not hungry?” Katarina asked, “Because I will happily take your meal.”

Unlike me, Katarina had received nothing to eat.

 _Why wouldn't Swain feed one of his best assassins?_   I thought.

I ripped my bread in half and held it out in front of Katarina. She looked surprised.

“Did I give you permission to hand my assassin food?” Swain growled.

“Do you have legal authorization of what I do or do not do?” I answered.

“I hope you know I can leave you here to suffer,” Swain said, his glare burning into me.

“Hah!” I chuckled, “You would not dare.”

Though Swain’s hands balled into tight fists, he did not try to injure me nor did he speak.

Katarina grabbed the bread and picked bits of it, savoring the crumbs.

We finished and prepared to ride in the carriage again. I was tired, yet I still had no desire to sleep. We rode on, passing the Institute of War, a place that meditate political conflicts.

Another day passed until we finally reached the land of Noxus. It was nighttime, and my body ached for the need to sleep, unlike Katarina, who had slept peacefully. Swain stayed awake, but he did not show one sign of exhaustion. We rode through the gates of the castle, and Katarina threw a black hooded cape over me.

“We can’t have anyone see you for now,” she said. We walked through the main door of the castle.

While the Demacian castle had colors inside such as gold, blue, silver, and white, Noxus had a darker theme, colors such as purple, black, and dark red.

There was no one to be seen, not even servants. It had to be very late. Katarina jerked me around different hallways, enjoying herself. We stopped in front of a black, metal door.

“This is your room,” Katarina said, “Goodnight.”

Then she left.

I opened the door. My bag was already on my bed.

It was a dark red wallpaper. The king sized bed had a black canopy that was transparent, the black matching with the blankets. Orange flames arose from the logs in the fireplace, and above that was a painted portrait of the Noxian kingdom. The other side of the room had a door to the bathroom. Besides the mirror, everything was black in there as well.

 _Noxians and Demacians really do commit to their colors_ , I thought.

There was only one window, which was next to my bed. It was covered by thick black curtains that I had to push aside. I could still not see the moon from the view. All I saw were the Ironspike mountains. Beyond those was the city Zaun. Beyond that was Piltover.

I opened the mahogany wardrobe next to my bed (the only thing that wasn’t black) and saw clothing that looked to be exactly my size.

There prepared everything for me, I thought.

Most of the shirts were low v-necks that would definitely show enough cleavage that I would not be comfortable with. There were also black leather leggings.

_Why me. Why do people “appreciate my appearance” and think I have “attractive qualities.”_

I sighed. For some reason, Lux popped up in my mind. I surprisingly missed her, a lot.

I wondered what Prince Jarvan was telling everyone. What will be Garen’s reaction right now? What are Quinn and Valor doing?

I shook the stressful thoughts from my head and prepared for sleep. I took a long shower, letting the hot water massage my sore back. I changed into my old nightgown instead of the one Noxus provided me (they thought I should sleep in lacy lingerie). I looked at the picture that Midna and RJ drew for me before hiding it in the glove of my armor, which I shoved in the back of the wardrobe.

Before I threw the bag I brought from Demacia into the wardrobe, I saw in a pocket a vial of liquid. It must of been something I packed without even realizing what it was.

Quinn had left a vial of Valor’s saliva in my room.

I washed my face in the bathroom sink, mixing the saliva and water together. I tried to not think of how disgusting it was to have bird spit rubbed against my eyes. I looked at the mirror above the sink and saw my eye markings darken, my forehead symbol glowing.

I still couldn’t fall asleep. The bed was comfortable, the blankets were soft and the pillows firm, but how was I suppose to sleep when at any moment a Noxian could suddenly appear and murder me without a second thought?

I turned over to my side to have a better view outside of the small window. I could see few stars, but nothing more.

My eyelids drooped, and though I was paranoid and angry, I let sleep take me over.

* * *

 

Once Diana had left, Ezreal prepared for a long night.

“I want all of the Demacian champions to meet in the dining hall, now,” Jarvan ordered. Ezreal nodded and walked out of the prince’s office.

In less than an hour the Demacian champions and Ezreal sat impatiently for Jarvan to explain what had just happened.

“Where’s Luna?” Garen asked, turning his gaze to Ezreal.

"Well you see," Ezreal said, "If I knew, I still wouldn't tell you. Perhaps she's rubbing off her makeup with Valor's spit."

Garen picked up the Piltover native with one hand by his suit collar.

“ _Where is she?_ ” he hissed.

“I will not have this kind of indecency, Garen!” Prince Jarvan IV barked walking into the dining hall. Garen lowered Ezreal and bowed his own head, “Sorry, my prince.”

“Now settle down, _all of you_ ,” Jarvan ordered, “There are a few things I need to say.”

The room became quiet and everyone sat down at different tables, listening to their prince. Ezreal, Quinn, and Valor moved to the back, their faces neutral.

“I can not give you full details,” Jarvan said, “but you must know if I could tell you the matters that are at hand, I would.”

“As you can all see,” he continued, “one of our fellow Demacians is not here with us.”

The champions mumbled to each other.

“Yes, Jinx decimated the west wing of the Demacian castle, but she had good reason to. I am pardoning her from this act.”

The champions became louder, obviously becoming more angry.

“Jinx was not the only one to destroy the west wing,” the prince said, raising his voice, “Another part of it was Pantheon’s fault. When he landed to the ground from his Grand Skyfall, many pieces of the wing blasted away. I appreciate all of those who protected others from the debris.”

“Pantheon’s act was an order, an order given by Leona. That order was to…”

Jarvan paused before he spoke again.

“Kidnap our new champion, Luna.”

 _One thing about the prince_ , Ezreal thought, _He really likes to make things over dramatic._

“Fortunately,” Jarvan IV resumed, “Ezreal, Shyvana, and I--”

“ _And Quinn and Valor!_ ” Quinn interrupted , Valor adding a screech.

“And those two, managed to help Luna escape. Now here comes the...most difficult part.”

Everyone waited.

“She is now hiding in Noxus.”

“ _Absolutely not, my prince!_ ” Garen shouted, “There must be someplace else.”

“Unfortunately, there is not,” Jarvan replied.

“Why not Ionia, or Bandle City? Even the Freljord would take her in!” Lux said.

“If Leona found Luna’s location, it would cause tension between the two city-states, possibly causing a war. If Leona finds out that Luna’s true location, she will not dare attack Noxus, for General Swain could wipe out all of Mount Targon.”

“Why does Leona want Luna so bad?” Fiora asked.

“That is what I cannot tell you. The day will come where you all will know everything, but for now, I must ask you to keep the information that I just said in secret.”

All the champions nodded in agreement.

“Thank you, that is all,” the prince finally finished, walking out of the dining hall. Garen walked back towards Ezreal. Quinn stepped in front of Ezreal just before Garen could come close face-to-face, Valor hissing.

“I just want to talk, that’s all,” Garen said. The duo moved out of the way.

“Do you really trust the Noxians?” Garen asked.

Ezreal shrugged, “We can’t do anything about it now.”

“General Swain could brainwash her into thinking--”

“Trust me, Garen. I doubt Luna will become a Noxian just because of some fancy words raven dude will say.”

“You convinced her to travel with Demacia, didn’t you? She didn’t even know who you were.”

“But that’s different. She had no where else to go!”

But that was a lie that Ezreal told Garen.

 _She could have gone to Zaun if I didn’t stop her_ , Ezreal thought.

Garen walked away, sighing and shaking his head. Ezreal connected eyes with Quinn and noticed she looked unsure of what was to become in the future.

Garen is right, Ezreal thought, _I got Diana to come with me to Demacia, she could also fall into Swain’s trap as well._

_She’s already in his grasp._

* * *

 

A hard knock on the door woke me up.

“Wake up fresh new meat!” Katarina’s voice chirped, “We have a nice day planned for you!”

Great, I thought.

I showered and changed into my armor. I was pulling my hair back with my ribbons when a lighter knock tapped the door.

“I’m moving as fast as I can, Katarina!” I shouted, tightening the ribbon knots..

“I’m afraid you are talking to the wrong person,” Swain’s voice appeared instead.

I rushed to the door and jerked it open.

“There is no rush, Diana,” he said, “Or, I presume I should be still calling you Luna, correct?”

I nodded, “It would be much appreciated.”

“Good. Now, follow me.”

I followed the crippled man to the doors of the Noxian dining hall.

“I told everyone that if any harm should come to you, they will have severe consequences,” Swain said. I didn’t even want to think of what punishment they would receive.

I was not afraid. It was exactly how it was my first day in the Demacian castle. Except everyone here wanted to see my head on top of the Noxian flag.

The food was a buffet style, just like in Demacia. There were bottles of red wine in buckets of ice ready to be drank.

 _They drink this early?_ I thought.

“Sit with whomever you like,” Swain said.

_Funny thing is, I do not like anyone here. I doubt they like me either._

I walked around with a plate of breakfast food. Katarina widened her legs so there was less space on the bench, and Cassiopeia hissed when I walked in her direction.

There was another table with unique beings that sat next to one another. From what I saw in Demacian battles they were Sion, Urgot, and Vladimir.

I saw two women by themselves at a table, eating quietly. One woman looked spider-like, while the other had a golden cape and eye markings as well. When I sat down in front of them, the woman with arachnid features groaned.

“Great, I _knew_ this was going to happen,” said she.

“Hush,” said the other woman, her dark blue hair glistening, “Let us be polite to our enemy.”

“My name is LeBlanc,” she said, “This is Elise. She is technically from the Shadow Isles, but she likes to visit here every once in a while.”

Elise looked at me and licked her lips.

“There’s nothing to fear,” she purred.

“Don’t mind her,” LeBlanc said, rolling her eyes, “She’s trying to intimidate you. She talks like that to everyone. Always wanting something to eat, right Elise?”

Elise had no food in front of her.

“I plan on having a meal sometime,” she said, “Soldiers have been too frightened to come pass the cavern lately.”

I had scanned past the Shadow Isles section in the book Garen let me have. LeBlanc seemed familiar, she was the Deceiver, and a matron of the Black Rose, but I did not know much about Elise.

“The others,” LeBlanc said, motioning the table which Katarina, Talon, Darius, Draven, Cassiopeia, Sion, and Morgana sat on, “they are just afraid of you.”

“Good,” I replied. That made LeBlanc smirk.

“I like you, whatever your name is,” the deceiver said.

“Luna.”

“I thought so. I haven’t been much involved in political affairs ever since the Black Rose weakened.”

The Black Rose. It was a guild of powerful magicians that met in secret from the Noxian government to further their hidden agenda, and to hone a craft more subtle than that preferred by those currently in power.

She was one not to be trifled with.

Suddenly, a second LeBlanc appeared.

“Show off,” Elise muttered.

“I am not--” the original LeBlanc said.

“a show off!” the second one finished.

“You can clone yourself?” I asked.

“Only for a temporary amount of time,” said the second, and as if it was her cue, she disappeared, leaving the real LeBlanc.

“Well, Swain is probably waiting for everyone at the coliseum,” Elise said, “Time to prove your skills, new meat.”

I sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

 


	13. The Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darius asks Diana for her help, though she is not too excited about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Agh!! Sorry for the late chapter. I already have written a couple more chapters, so I should post more often.  
> Thank you for your patience!  
> Enjoy!!

I wiped the dripping sweat off my brow. Though the Noxian sky was colored grey by the melancholy clouds, the humidity created water droplets on the outside of my armor.

LeBlanc’s clone charged at me once again, but I moved fast out of the way and raced my blade across its neck.

“You are not making this any fun,” the real LeBlanc pouted.

We had been working for hours. First I had to prove my quickness by flashing out of Draven’s axes, next I had to show my strength by untangling myself from one of Morgana’s snares, and now I had to strategize through LeBlanc’s tricks.

“I honestly think we know she’s a pretty good fighter, Darius,” LeBlanc called to the other champion as I ducked under her Ethereal Chains, “I mean, she’s kicked your ass before in battle, right?”

The military general’s fists tightened.

“You should not talk to your superior that way, woman,” he scoffed.

Suddenly, LeBlanc’s clone appeared behind Darius, and it held its staff in front of Darius’s neck.

“I would watch what you say,” LeBlanc purred. Then I saw a flash, and now there was a dagger at LeBlanc’s neck.

“I would watch what you _do_ , LeBlanc,” Katarina growled.

LeBlanc laughed, and her clone disappeared in the air. Katarina lowered her dagger.

“We should take you to General Swain,” Darius growled.

“Right, and guess who allowed me to stay here?” LeBlanc replied, a wide grin forming on her face.

It was true from what LeBlanc was telling me as we fought. She was and still is Swain’s ally, and everyone hated her for it.

Darius and Katarina trudged away, knowing that there was nothing they could do.

“Well,” Elise said, crawling towards me, “I guess it’s time for our afternoon meal, isn’t it?”

It took me everything not to shudder. Though Elise was slightly nicer to me than the others, I couldn’t help but picture me stuck in one of her webs, ready to be her “afternoon meal”.

The dining hall was much busier in the afternoon. All the Noxians howled with laughter as they shoved spoonfuls of food in their mouths, unlike the Demacians who chewed their food thoroughly before they swallowed and spoke.

I was reaching for a slice of bread, when suddenly, it was snatched before I could touch it.

“Oh, _sorry_ ,” Talon said sarcastically.

_Child_ , I thought.

The assassin walked away, chuckling to himself, sticking the entire slice into his mouth.

When I had finally sat down, the only items I had on my plate was an apple, a slice of steak fat, and a slightly molded bread chunk.

“What happened?” LeBlanc asked.

“People liked to switch things from their plate to mine,” I said, “They are acting immature.”

"They'll get bored once they see you aren't affected by it."

"Are you saying I have to eat this?"

"No, you newcomer, that'll just be giving what the people want. They want to see you suffer, so don't give them that benefit."

LeBlanc stabbed a chicken breast on her plate and dropped it on mine.

"Besides, I always fill my plate with too much food."

I was about to thank LeBlanc until she raised her hand.

"Please don't," she said, "I'm only doing this so it won't be too easy for me to beat you in training."

I grinned. I knew that could not be the only reason. Because LeBlanc was Swain's ally, she knew his intentions on wanting to keep me safe. I almost wondered if she knew the entire situation from the Champion Ball, but I did not want to ask.

The afternoon meal was concluded, and I began to walk back to the arena.

"You can rest if you need to," Swain's voice appeared, making me flinch.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to frighten you."

"I just was not expecting it," I replied.

"Do you need to take a break?" The general pursued.

"No, I need to show these people what I'm capable of. I don't want to be treated with disrespect."

"Very wise."

Swain walked away from me, his raven perched on his shoulder.

I was dueling with LeBlanc when I heard a whistling noise behind me. I pushed LeBlanc to the ground and ducked. Katarina's blade struck a tree instead of my head.

"Very good!" Katarina cheered.

"What do you want" LeBlanc asked, her voice sounding more frustrated than confused.

"I want to duel against you, Luna," Katarina said, dragging her finger up and down on one of her daggers.

I helped LeBlanc up from the ground, "I am not here to actually fight," I said, "I am only here temporarily."

"Oh come on, I know you want to chop me up into big chunks with that big blade of yours."

"Katarina, shouldn't you be teaching the soldiers the new tactics?" Darius growled at his fellow Noxian. Katarina glared at her fellow Noxian and sighed.

"Fine. I'm going to have that duel one of these days. I'll make sure of it."

Darius moved his gaze to LeBlanc, "I must speak to Luna alone."

LeBlanc rolled her eyes and walked away, not even saying farewell.

"Walk with me", Darius said, which sounded more like an order.

We entered the castle, and Darius spoke as we walked through the different halls and wings.

"I understand you do not wish to fight for Noxus," Darius began, "You do not want to become one of us."

"You are correct," I responded, "When I am considered to be safe, I will walk out of Noxus to live the rest of my life free."

"There is a Baron Nashor right outside the walls of the Noxus kingdom. We need someone to bring a troop and kill the beast."

"You want me to lead a group of soldiers to their deaths? There is no possibility of them surviving!"

"They will cause enough damage for you to take the Baron's life."

"I am not leading dead men. I do not wish to help Noxus."

Darius sighed and rubbed his forges with his fingers. Beads of sweat glistened against his body.

"Let us make a deal," Darius said, "I will go to fight the Baron with you, but only if you lead the soldiers and wear the Noxus colors on your armor."

" _Fuck you_ ," I snapped. Usually, that language would not escape my mouth so easily, but this was an exception.

"I fight for myself. Garen Crownguard never made me change into some Demacian uniform."

"But we, Noxians, are so much more... _exhilarating._ "

Darius words could convince regular soldiers, but they did not affect me.

"You are trying too hard," I said, "What harm has this Baron Nashor caused?"

Darius stopped in front of a painting. It was one of himself.

"I am also a protector of my homeland, _Diana_ , and I do not want to see my people burned to death by the monster's poison."

So he also knew my true identity.

"Lux does not know who you really are, does she?" Darius asked, as if he knew what I was thinking.

"She and Garen know nothing," I said, now looking up at Darius, making eye contact.

"Garen would be sorry to hear about your past," Darius spoke as if it was a threat.

"I try to keep the Crownguards out of my personal business."

"Very hard task to do."

Darius smiled at his own comment. It was strange to see him in a positive mood.

"Remember when you spit in my face?" He asked.

"Which time?" I muttered, which made Darius chuckle.

_What's with him?_ I thought.

"If only you ran to Noxus first," Darius said, "I feel like we would of been..."

Darius stopped himself, which I was almost grateful for.

"It doesn't matter," he continued, "It would be appreciated if you aided Noxus."

I scoffed.

"You must trust me. I stand at General Swain's side, which means I do what he asks. I am suppose to protect you at all costs...unfortunately."

"My fellow Noxians would never disobey my rules nor General Swain's. The only man you should stay away from is my brother, Draven. If you are smart, you will not let yourself be alone with him. Draven was never the one to obey human morals. He also never follows the rules."

Darius was now giving me advice, which made me question his motives. Was he trying to gain my trust? Was he just finding reasons to make me want to fight the Baron?

"I will fight the Baron," I finally spoke, "but I want a tour of the actual city. At least in Demacia I got to leave the castle."

Darius's jaw tightened but he knew I would not change my mind.

"I will speak to General Swain about it," he said, and with that, I followed Darius back to the arena, and started another match with LeBlanc.

* * *

 

I pushed through the thorny vines, the thorns scratching against my armor.

I raised my hand for the soldiers to halt. I recognized the stench.

"We are almost there," Darius whispered. He stood at my left side, towering over me.

I signaled to move, and the soldiers did so. The smell was thickening;it made me want to gag.

There it was, the Baron Nashor. It was a mature creature, almost twice the size of the ones I had seen on battlefields.

"We do not have enough men," I hissed.

"We have you," Darius replied. I rolled my eyes,

I motioned my hand to guide the soldiers. They lined up in a semi circle, wrapping around the front of the Baron. I aimed my crescent blade.

With a throw, my blade hit the Baron hard against its throat, but it only caused a scratch.

"Attack!" I ordered. I lifted my shield and ran to the Baron, hitting it with my three orbs. The Baron screeched so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts.

"Look out!" I heard Darius shout. I jumped back just as the Nashor's poison splattered on top of me.

The soldiers were slowly decreasing. If we didn't do something, Darius and I would end up alone.

"Someone need help?" I heard a rough voice behind me.

I turned to see Draven, waving one of his axes in his hand. He had a gigantic smirk on his face.

"This is none of your business, Draven," Darius growled.

“Oh come on! You know you need the help, and I would love to fight alongside of Luna.”

As much as I disliked Draven already, the help was necessary if we wanted the Baron dead.

Draven threw one of his axes, hitting the Baron on it’s long neck, and caught the axe as it bounced back. The Baron screeched louder, the cut oozing out a green liquid that smelled of rot.

It’s poison shot into my abdomen, throwing me back onto the dirt.

“Luna!” I heard Darius yell. The acid left a hole in my armor.

“ _I’m fine_ ,” I growled. Darius lowered his hand, helping me to stand.

“Some Champion you are,” Draven spattered. I grinded my teeth together.

I looked at the Baron, studying it’s structure. I focused on my mark, and began to run.

I ignored the orders of Darius telling me to fall back. I raised my shield, the acid trying to push it’s way through. I jumped up in the air, lifting my crescent blade.

My blade slid down the Baron’s neck, leaving a fatal cut. Green liquid spurted in all directions. I cried out from the loud shriek which entered my ears. I felt someone grab the back of my armor and pull me back. I leaned on Darius for support as he led me farther from the mess. I looked to see my breastplate melting. I ripped off the breastplate, revealing my undershirt, which poison had also seeped through, leaving holes on my abdomen. I felt the burning of my skin.

I yanked a health potion from my belt, pouring it into my mouth. The burns began to cool, but blisters still left their mark. I lifted my breastplate to see how damaged it was. I sighed.

_How am I going to fix this?_ I thought.

Darius hit the castle gates of Noxus with his large axe. I straightened myself and pulled away from his grasp, trying to walk on my own. It was painful, but I refused to show any sign of weakness.

Katerina waited for us, leaning on the castle itself while picking her nails with one of her daggers.

"Took you long enough," she said, "Does it really take that long to kill a Baron?"

Katarina's eyes landed on my stomach.

"I guess we should take you to the medic," she said, pushing herself off the castle wall and closer to see my burns, "You don't look too peachy."

"I'm fine," I hissed, but I knew I wasn't. Health potion didn't heal my entire body, and I could feel heat on my legs and arms.

We all entered the castle, and as I was beginning to walk back to my room, a wave of dizziness hit me.

"Luna?" I heard Darius ask, "Are you alright?"

I couldn't answer, because as my legs gave out, and as I began to fall, darkness overcame me.

 


	14. Burned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the battle with the Baron Nashor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, another chapter soon like I said before!  
> Enjoy!

I woke up in my own room, my vision clearing to see LeBlanc.

"You look terrible," she said.

"Thanks," I replied sarcastically.

"I don't even know how you are alive, your entire body was completely burned. You're lucky we have a good support."

I lifted my head more to see Morgana mixing potions together.

"Quiet, clown," she growled.

"Oh shush, angel."

Morgana moved closer to me and lifted my arm, where I felt a bolt of pain.

"Hm, by the way I can tell you are tensing, I'm guessing your left arm is still injured."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You ran directly into a Baron Nashor and had its poison cover your body," Morgana said, glaring at me with her fiery purple eyes, "The health potion you took did not heal you entirely. You shouldn't have been so careless."

I scoffed, "Sorry for helping. You know it is not everyday I am asked to kill one of the biggest monsters in all of Valoran."

Morgana dropped my arm and walked back to the end of the bed, mixing more potions together.

I sat up on the bed and studied myself. My left arm was completely covered with gauze. As I lifted a piece of it up, I dropped it immediately when I saw the raw red skin.

I lifted the white shirt on me to see gauze wrapped around my stomach. I lifted the sheet which covered my legs and saw white shorts, but no gauze.

"Your abdomen, your entire left arm, and your right wrist took the most damage," Morgana said, noticing what I was doing, "Can't really fix the hair though."

What? I thought. I reached my arm behind me and felt my hair. It stopped short. Very short.

I pushed myself off the bed, ignoring the pain.

"You should not be out of bed," Morgana argued, but she did not try to stop me.

I walked into the bathroom and gasped at the sight.

My hair now ended right above my shoulders. My ribbons would no longer be necessary. For a while, at least.

"Most of your hair was burnt off," LeBlanc called from the bedroom, "I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. Hair grows back."

I sighed and looked closer. It would be hard to recognize me from afar. I thought of Ezreal, how he stroked my long hair. I felt a throbbing in my throat.

" _Get back into bed!_ " Morgana ordered. I walked back to the bedroom and did what was commanded. Morgana handed LeBlanc a vial of brown liquid.

"This should help remove the scars from the burns and relieve pain," LeBlanc said, "I find it quite tasty."

I lifted myself up so I was sitting upright. I took the vial and brought it up to my lips. The smell made me gag.

"Trust me, the taste makes up for the stench," Draven said, walking into the room.

Morgana's wings stretched outwards, growing twice as big. Her eyes began smoking.

"Now now, Morgue, I'm just checking up on our little beauty"

" _Get out you disgusting human!_ " Morgana roared, her voice sounding demonic and terrifying. She flapped her wings and sent Draven flying back, crashing through the bedroom door.

"General Swain won't be happy to known you've broken Noxian property!" He shouted.

"General Swain will not be happy to know that you were not obeying orders and staying out of this room!" Morgana replied.

"Good point."

I found myself smiling. Even if she did hate me, I knew I would always be safe if Morgana was in the room.

I tilted the terrible smelling liquid and drank.

It tasted amazing.

I drank it slowly, savoring the liquid. It was sweet, and reminded me of the delicious fruit Demacia served.

"It's a mix of a few health and mana potions, plus a drop of Elder Lizard," Morgana said.

My eyes widened.

_I am drinking lizard blood._

"Elder Lizard blood actually has a lot of vitamins and protein," LeBlanc said, reading my thoughts, "It also gives the wonderful taste."

"You can not have too much of it though," Morgana added, "If you are healthy, it can leave you paralyzed for a short amount of time, and also cause unimaginable pain."

I was surprised. Something so delicious could also be deadly.

I felt myself become re-energized, the burning pain fading.

"How long am I suppose to stay in bed?" I asked Morgana.

"I would give it until dinner. You've been asleep for a few days now. Do not take off the gauze for about another week."

" _A few days?!_ " I exclaimed, "But I was just burned by Baron acid!"

"Well you also have suffered from lack of sleep and starvation," LeBlanc said, "Since ya know, _some people_ rather not have you eat."

She glared at Morgana. The dark angel rolled her eyes.

"Swain is not going to like this!" LeBlanc continued, "If he finds out--"

Morgana snared LeBlanc.

"General Swain will not hear a word about this, because I will talk to the others about Luna's malnutrition."

"Malnutrition my ass."

The two left after a few minutes, Morgana warning me again to not exit the room until dinner.

I stood up anyway, not bothering to lay underneath the heavy covers anymore. I looked at the wrecked door.

 _I guess I'll have to dress in the bathroom for a while_ , I thought.

I walked to the bathroom mirror and studied my hair again. It did not look necessarily bad. It was only a little bit longer than Fiora's hair, the more I studied it.

_Quinn would be laughing right now._

I missed my friend. I missed Valor's glares as Quinn begged him to donate some of his feathers.

I walked back into the bedroom and opened my wardrobe, where I found my breastplate had been fully repaired.

I did not know any Noxians who had skills to fix armor, but when I thought about it more, I could see Darius being the type to know how to build such armor, seeing he wore so much himself.

I dressed myself carefully, only flinching a little bit when the armor scratched against my left arm as I slipped it on. My wrist on my other arm hurt, but I could ignore the heat.

My crescent blade was leaned on the nightstand beside my bed. I looked to see it carried no scratch. It was the strongest blade I had ever seen.

Dinner soon arrived, and my stomach made sure I knew.

I look at the large black doors which entered the dining hall. As soon as I reached them, a hand reached over my head and pushed the door for me.

I turned my head to see Urgot. He was not the best sight, and he smelt terrible, but I nodded in thanks. I walked to the buffet and grabbed a plate. I piled it with different choices of meats, fruits, vegetables, and bread rolls. I filled a large cup with water.

"I like the haircut," Talon whispered in my ear, almost making me jump.

"It was not my choice to make," I replied, walking past him to sit with LeBlanc and Elise. Talon's arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"Sit with us," he said, turning me to the table where Katarina, Darius, Draven, Cassiopeia, and Morgana sat.

I tried to pull away, but the assassin's grip tightened, my shoulder filling with pain.

I looked over to where my only two acquaintances were sitting. They were laughing, LeBlanc lipping out a "Have fun!" I glared in response.

I sat in between Darius and Katarina, Draven sitting across from me. He leaned on one elbow and watched me.

"Is there something you want?" I asked, my voice threatening.

"I never knew a pretty girl like you could have such a large appetite."

"Silence, brother," Darius snapped.

Draven took a large bite out of his turkey leg, "Sorry for pointing out the obvious."

I heard Katarina giggle next to me. In my peripheral vision, I could see Talon's hand moving up Katarina's inner thigh.

 _They really can not keep their hands off each other_ , I thought.

"How are your injuries?" Darius asked.

"It burns, but I've had worse," I replied.

"You should've saw him," Draven said, motioning to his brother, "He literally picked you up bridal style when you fainted. Darius here to save the day!"

I felt Darius tense up, his face turning red, "I did what was necessary."

"It gets better! Then he goes on about how you need Morgana now. Not just in a few minutes! _Now_."

I held onto my water as Darius leaned over and grabbed Draven by his shirt collar.

"Here we go," Katarina murmured.

"I did what General Swain has ordered," Darius growled, "I am protecting her from monsters and pathetic Champions like you."

Draven grinned, "Oh brother. It seems you are in deep trouble. Luna, or Lux? The struggle is real."

Draven's body, once again, was flown back across the dining hall. Darius left the table to punish Draven even more. I could not help but chuckle.

"You aren't always depressed all the time!" Talon cheered.

In a way, the Noxians had lessen on their desire to kill me, but that did not change my perspective on the entire situation.

Noxians could not be trusted. I doubt they trusted each other.

"So, is there an exact reason why you are staying with us?" Morgana asked.

_Swain did not tell them anything?_

"I am quite curiouss," Cassiopeia slithered.

I didn't know what to say, "Uh, um..."

"After the blow up at the Champion ball," Katarina interrupted, "Jinx threatened she was going to kill Luna, since ya know, Luna and Ezreal are a thing."

"What?!" I shouted. First thing, Katarina lied for me, second, she just said Ezreal and I were a "thing".

My face was now burning red.

"Ezreal and I are _not_ \--" I started, just to be interrupted by Katarina again.

"No need to be embarrassed! Unless your like Talon and me and just fool aroun--"

"That's enough, Katarina," Darius said, sitting back down in his seat.

"Then what's the real reason?" Talon asked.

"Jinx wants to kill Luna!" Katarina said again, "She is not going to stroll through Noxus to rocket this girl though."

I did not know why Katarina was defending me. She knew the real reason I was here, why hasn't she exposed me?

"Well, it's time for training," LeBlanc's clone said, appearing behind me, "Then it's hunting!"

Everyone on the table groaned.

"What's hunting?" I asked.

"It's just monster killing all night," Talon whined, "Forget about sleep."

"Don't worry about any terrible monsters," Katarina said, "We just take care of the ones that haunt outside of Noxus during the night."

As we stood up and walked to the coliseum, I pulled Darius aside.

"When am I getting that Noxus tour?" I asked.

Darius sighed. He should have known I would remember.

"Well, we can go now, if you would like," he said.

"What about training?"

"You're Diana, and I'm commander of the Noxus military. We can get away with many things."

Darius's personality was changing, and the only reason he could have the finest bit of humor was because of one person.

Luxanna Crownguard.

We walked around the city. Most homes were small shacks. Ragged animals ran across the streets, and beggars were around every corner.

"Why does not Swain take care of the people better?" I asked Darius. He shrugged.

"General Swain focuses mostly on our military and making sure the Champions are ready for battle."

We walked more, the sun now on the horizon.

"Do you know how Lux is doing?" I asked, "I mean, I have been in a coma for a few days."

"She is fine," he replied, "Leona has traveled over to Zaun for your search, Demacia is rebuilding what Jinx demolished."

"I wish I could see her. Lux, I mean."

"Me too, Diana."

I stopped and faced Darius.

"Please call me Luna," I said, my voice firm, "I just do not want to risk anyone finding out who I am." Darius nodded in reply.

We walked back to the castle when night castes over Noxus.

"Time for hunting," Darius said.

With the rest of the Noxian Champions, we all walked into the woods which rested outside of the kingdom.


End file.
